The Lake House
by EVAN AAML
Summary: Ash's mom wins a chance to stay at a lake house in Northern Kanto and asks Ash and his friends to go in her place. Such a wonderful location couldn't possibly ruin their vacation could it? We'll see! AAML, DAML, and a few other ones!
1. Chapter 1

**Now the time has come ladies and gentleman. The story that I have been working for one full year has come to fruition. I give to you, "The Lake House". Now then, for the brief story explanation, I recommend reading the final chapter of "Eternal Darkness", the notes page. In that I gave a slight description of this story. I hope that this will soon be the best story I have ever written. But I digress, here it is, please enjoy! -EVAN AAML**

"We find our heroes yet again at the Ketchum residence, packing up for yet another journey. But little do they know that this adventure will be more than they bargained for"

"Ergh, is this it for the bags?", a young boy asked carrying a duffel bag towards his friend Brock. They were loading a large van with various items and bags. Brock took the bag from the young boy, a boy named Ash.

"Uh...not really, close to it though. Good thing Prof. Oak lent us his van, its got loads of space", Brock said as he placed the duffel bag into the trunk. "Alright, we should have plenty of space left for the remaining stuff. We've got a couple more bags, a cooler, my mini grill, and all of the sleeping bags yet to go. You might want to tell the others to get ready to leave". Ash nodded and ran inside his house. While traveling through the Sinnoh region, Ash, Brock, Pikachu, and their newest friend Dawn stopped in at a Pokemon Center to rest for the night. While there, Ash contacted his mother, Delia, to catch up on what was going on in Kanto. Coincidentally, Delia had been trying to contact him for the last few days. Apparently, Prof. Oak had construction done to his lab to make more room the the incoming Pokemon. After the construction, the build team told Prof. Oak about a contest that their company was hosting. Prof. Oak decided to enter and asked Delia if she was interested as well. After entering, Delia expected to never hear from the company again; but instead they called and informed her that she had actually won the contest. The prize was to stay at a newly constructed camp made by their company on the side of a lake in Northern Kanto. However, Delia was far too busy with work to the house, so she asked Ash to go in her place and to invite his friend for the trip. Ash was shocked at the news but excited to have a chance to see his friends again. After telling Brock and Dawn the news, he contacted his friend Misty, May, Max, Tracy, and Gary and told them of the news. Needless to say they were all excited and couldn't wait for the trip. Ash told them all to meet at his house in Pallet Town and get ready for the trip. Soon, Ash, Brock, Dawn, and Pikachu found themselves on a ferry to return to Kanto. By the time they had reached Pallet Town, Tracy and Misty were already there. Gary arrived shortly afterwards and the gang stayed at the Ketchum residence to reminisce about old times. The next day, May and Max arrived with Drew, whom Ash had allowed May to invite. Which brings us back to today. As Ash entered the house, he noticed May, Max, Drew, Gary, and Prof. Oak sitting on the couches talking while Delia, Misty, Tracy, and Pikachu were showing Dawn the house and the things in it. Delia picked up a small photo frame and smiled, handing it to Dawn to view.

"Oh, this is when Ash finished the Johto Silver Conference, he is so handsome in this picture!", Delia said happily. Misty looked at the picture as Dawn held it. A smile crossed her face.

"I remember this, it was right before me and Brock left. He wanted a photo for the memories. Those were good times then...good times", Misty said. As she gazed at the picture, she remembered that fateful day. A lone tear slid down her cheek. Realizing what she was doing, she quickly wipped it away, but not before Dawn noticed. She was unaware of why she reacted in this way, but kept it to herself. Her attention to it however was short lived as Ash approached them.

"Alright guys, we're almost ready!", Ash said excited. Pikachu quickly jumped onto Ash and took his usual spot on Ash's shoulder. "Well then, what are we waiting for! LET'S GO!", Ash yelled, throwing a fist into the air. Pikachu copied the action.

"Pika!", Pikachu yelled. As they all left the house, Brock had loaded the last of the bags. He closed the trunk door and then approached the side door closest to the gang.

"Alright everyone, we're all packed. So let's hit the road!", Brock exclaimed as he grabbed the handle to the side door and slid it open. Delia quickly grabbed onto Ash and hugged him.

"I'm gonna miss you so much! It seems that whenever you're here, you're gone the next day! Stay out of trouble, and don't forget to change your you know whats every single day!", Delia told her son. Ash blushed and pulled away from her abruptly

"MOM!", Ash yelled embarrassed. Trying to hide from the snickers of his friends, he walked over to say goodbye to Prof. Oak. While he did this, Delia leaned in towards Misty and whispered in her ear.

"I know I can trust you to watch over my little Ash", Delia whispered, smiling as she did so. Misty smiled back and nodded.

"Of course, you can count on me", Misty whispered back. Delia then gave Misty a hug.

"Thank you deary, I consider you the daughter that I never had. I know you'll do a good job", Delia said. Misty blushed slightly at the compliment.

"Thank you", Misty replied. Delia then released her from the embrace and hurried her towards the van with the others. The van had 4 levels of seats, the driver and front seat, 2 rows of double seats, and a final 3 person seat in the back near the trunk. Prof. Oak had made sure to lend them a van where everyone could fit in. Brock took the driver's seat and started the car. Gary took the front seat besides Brock, (something he and Ash had argued over. But since it was his grandfather's van, he won out in the end). Behind them were May and Drew, then Dawn and Misty, and in the back row of seats were Ash, Tracy, and Max. Pikachu sat on Ash's lap. May, being the one closest to the open door, put her hand on the handle. She then looked out to Delia and Prof. Oak.

"See you later!", May yelled.

"Take care!", Prof. Oak said.

"Watch yourselves!", Delia added. May then closed the sliding door. Brock honked the horn goodbye and started to drive. Everyone in the large van smiled and waved goodbye to the two adults as they began to disappear from sight. After they were gone, May looked towards Brock.

"So Brock, where exactly is the lake house?", May asked. Brock held out a map of the Kanto region and pointed to a lake near the top corner.

"It's in the Northern part of Kanto, past the Indigo Plateau", Brock said as he drove. Dawn turned around to face Ash.

"Hey Ash, why did your mom have us take her place, she was the one that won the contest", Dawn asked. Ash shrugged.

"Mom said that she was too busy with the house. But considering she lives by herself most of the time with Mr. Mime, the house should be in top condition. I think personally that she wanted to give it to us so that we could all spend the week together", Ash explained. Misty looked back at Ash as well.

"Just like old times huh Ash?", Misty brought up. Ash chuckled slightly and smiled.

"Just like old times", Ash replied.

"I can't wait to get there, I heard that the scenery's beautiful", Tracy said as he sketched the outside of the van into his sketchbook. Ash then reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a brochure. It was a paper on the contest Delia had won. He opened it up and began reading from it.

"Enter for your chance to win a free trip to our newly constructed lake house in Northern Kanto. Experience the outdoors with many activities both on land and in the crystal clear lake", Ash read out loud. "Hmm, looks like a great place for a vacation!". Ash placed the brochure back into his pocket.

"Hey Brock, how much farther to the camp?", Drew asked.

"Oh, we've got a ways to go yet", Brock answered. Drew then laid back in his seat and placed his hands behind his head as he closed his eyes.

"Well then in that case, I'm going to sleep", Drew stated. May looked at him confused.

"Don't you want to talk?", May asked.

"I'm on vacation, which means I'm on break from contests, training, traveling, and _especially _your mouth", Drew replied coolly, not moving an inch. May glared at the green haired boy.

"What did you say!" May yelled angrily. Drew didn't reply, he was already asleep. May was about to yell again but figured it was pointless. She huffed out heavily and crossed her arms in disgust. "Hmph, men!". Meanwhile, in the back of the van, Ash had already begun to get bored. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind and he began to smile mischievously. He leaned over to Tracy and began to whisper in his ear.

"Hey Trace, watch this", Ash said. Tracy watched curiously as Ash handed Pikachu to Misty, who reluctantly accepted the yellow mouse. He then looked towards the front of the van. "Hey Gary!", Ash called out. Gary turned around to to see Ash, waiting for a response. "Why didn't you invite your cheer leader friends!", Ash asked. Both Tracy and Misty knew where this was going to go. Tracy laughed very quietly as Misty shook her head in annoyance. Gary turned around and faced the front of the road once more.

"You know I don't hang out with them anymore", Gary replied. Ash started to snicker to himself.

"Why, did they get bored of you that quickly?", Ash asked. Tracy began to laugh more, but still trying to remain quiet. Gary still faced the front.

"Ash, I will beat you into submission!", Gary threatened. Ash laughed more.

"That's what she said!", Ash responded. Gary had enough. He reached for his seatbelt.

"That's it, I'm going to kill him!", Gary stated as he unclicked his seatbelt. After he did so he sat up and began to move. Brock shook his head in pity for Ash.

"No blood in the car please, I promised your grandfather that I would keep it clean!", Brock yelled out to Gary.

"Yeah yeah", Gary responded. He then made his way towards the back of the van with quick hast. Ash then unbuckled his seatbelt to prepare for the fight. As soon as Gary reached Dawn and Misty, he launched himself at Ash. As the two began to wrestle, Tracy started to laugh out loud. He took off his seatbelt to not get involved and moved. He soon sat down in-between May and the sleeping Drew to watch the fight unfold. May looked down to see Tracy watch the fight. She then looked to see Drew, still sleeping in his seat. As she did this, her own little mischievous thought ran through her mind. She then tapped Tracy on the shoulder. Tracy looked up at her, wondering why she would interrupt him watching the fight.

"Hey Tracy, could you do something for me?", May asked. Tracy nodded, always eager to help someone. As he wondered what it could be that she needed help with, May rummaged through her backpack. She then pulled out two small objects. "I've been saving these for when Drew fell asleep. Normally I wouldn't be this mean but now he deserves it", May explained. She then revealed in her hands a feather and shaving cream. Tracy looked at them and began to laugh. During this, Misty, Dawn, and Pikachu watched as Ash and Gary fooled around in the back seat. Also sitting in the back row, directly behind Dawn, was Max. Due to his small size, he was afraid of moving out of his seat like Tracy had and now was trying to not get involved in the fight with the two teens. He panicked as body part after body part flew by him. All of a sudden, one of Gary's feet kicked Max in the face. Although the kick itself was not a hard one, it was enough to cause Max to hit the window with his head. Dawn heard the bang and turned around to see Max holding the back of his head and rubbing it. Dawn gasped.

"Oh my! Are you alright!", Dawn asked worried. Max regained his composture and then looked up at Dawn. Immediatly, he noticed just how she looked. Max had only met Dawn briefly and had not gotten a good look at her. But now doing so, he realized just how cute she looked, especially when she was worried for him. Suddenly, he began to blush immensfully. He tried to fix his glasses on his face as a distraction.

"Oh, uh...yeah, I'm...I'm alright", Max said making sure not to make eye contact. Dawn smiled. Watching this, Misty and Pikachu looked at each other and smiled, they knew what it reminded them of. Meanwhile, Tracy had the feather in his hand and prepared to tickle Drew with it. Because his hands were behind his head, Tracy needed to make Drew move them. He tickled his cheek, causing Drew to involuntarily wipe it away. In doing so, his hands were free and Tracy quickly applied some of the shaving cream to one of them. After he did so, he looked at May and the two of them started giggling. Tracy focused on Drew again and tickled him once again with the feather. Drew at first tried to ignore the feeling, but soon it was too much for him to handle, and he wiped the tickle away; in the process wiping the shaving cream all over his face. May and Tracy burst into laughter as Drew slowly woke up. He felt something on his face and felt the shaving cream. He then looked at his hand.

"What the...", Drew said as he noticed the cream. He then wiped the remaining cream off of his face with his clean hand and removed it all with his shirt. After he did so, he glared at May and Tracy, who had not stopped laughing. In the back of the car, the fighting had ceased when Ash managed to sit on Gary's back Indian style.

"Ha! I did it! I won!", Ash eclaimed in excitement. Just then, the van started to bounce up and down violently, which was caused by Brock driving over a rough road. Tracy flew up in the air for a moment and crashed into the inside roof of the car before crashing into the floor with a thud. Ash flew forward off of Gary and landed in-between Dawn and Misty. Gary himself bounced up and the front half of his body landed in the trunk while his legs kicked the air near Max. When the bumping from the road stopped, Brock turned around briefly to see the carnage. He then faced the road and laughed.

"And that kids, is why we wear seatbelts", Brock said. May, Dawn, Misty, Brock, Max, and Pikachu all started to laugh while Drew wiped away the last of the shaving cream. When he was sure the cream was all gone, he looked down at Tracy.

"Tracy?", Drew said. Tracy sat up from the bumping. He was still very dizzy from the crash and had trouble looking at Drew, but he did. "You're an idiot", he stated. "And you?", he said directed towards May. She looked at him. "You're despicable", Drew stated. May made a sly smile and then turned her head to look out the window. At this time, Ash tried to sit himself up from landing on the floor. He put his hand on the closest thing he could find to help boost himself up. As soon as he touched this thing, he felt warmth and smoothness. He got goosebumps from the touch but ignored it as he brought himself to his knees. He then turned to see that his hand was resting on a bare leg, which was connected to Misty. Both her and Pikachu were giggling from the fall Ash had just endured.

"Nice of you to drop by!", Misty said smiling at Ash. Ash made a goofy grin.

"I aim to please!", Ash stated. Misty only giggled more. Gary managed to move himself out of the trunk and began to make his way to the front seat; stopping when Ash was in the way.

"Ash, stop flirting with your crush and get back to your seat before we go over more bumps", Gary said. He then stepped over Ash and made his way to Tracy. "And Tracy, you too", he said, not even stopping for him. Gary then managed to make his way to his seat, buckled up, and relaxed.

"Ok", Tracy said still dizzy. He bumbled his way back to his seat, nearly tripping over Ash in the process. Ash himself looked at Gary, and then back to Misty.

"I'm sorry _crush, _but my _mother_ says I have to sit back in my seat. But don't worry, I'll be back to _flirt_ with you later", Ash said with a sarcastic tone directed towards Gary.

"I look forward to it", Misty replied. Ash then stood up and sat back down in his seat. As he did, he helped Tracy put his seatbelt on, noticing that he was still dizzy and could not clip it in. After he did so, Brock spoke up.

"Alright guys, we've officially reached Northern Kanto. It will still be awhile before we reach the lake house though", Brock explained. Everyone looked out their window to see the many trees and wildlife, much like the forests they've traveled through on their journeys. On one side was a small river, where Seaking were jumping over rocks in the water to reach upstream. On the other side of the car were a herd of Stantler eating grass in a small field. "Uh oh", Brock suddenly said. Everyone turned their attention away from the windows towards Brock.

"What is it?", May asked. Brock looked around through the window, as if to look for something in particular.

"I don't recognize this area, we need to get some directions", Brock said. Gary looked out the window as well to help Brock. As he did, he noticed something.

"Well look at that, there's a small store, we can ask there", Gary said. Everyone looked and noticed a small store on the side of the road. It looked old, but sturdy. There many old signs around the building advertising for things inside. There was a cooler on the porch holding what appeared to be ice cream and baited worms according to the ads on it. Brock drove the van into the large gravel parking lot and stopped it. As he turned it off, he unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to face everyone.

"I'll go ask for directions, be right back", Brock said. He then opened his door.

"Wait Brock, I'm coming too", Ash suddenly said as he unbuckled his seatbelt. Drew looked at Ash and did the same.

"Yeah me too, I could use the stretch", Drew said. As Brock stepped out of the van, Drew slid his door open and he and Ash stepped out. Drew stretched his arms and legs and then shook it off briefly. He and Ash then met up with Brock and the three teens walked towards the store. As they approached the small building, they noticed an older man sitting in a chair right by the door, near where the cooler was. He had a thick red moustache and beard with hair to match. He wore a red and black plaid jacket which was open and revealed a black shirt. He also wore torn up jeans and hiking boots. By his side was a large and older looking Granbull. He looked at the boys with a curious yet helpful smile.

"Can I help you boys?", the man asked. He spoke with a deep husky voice.

"Uhm, are you the store clerk?", Brock asked curiously. The man shook his head.

"No I'm not, but I help out the owner alot, we're good friends, you all lost?", the man asked, noticing the van filled with teenagers. Brock nodded his head.

"Oh, yes, we're looking for this lake house around here", Brock explained. The man gave a slight chuckle.

"Well there's alot of those around here, might want to be more specific", the man said.

"Uhm, it's a newer one, just built I guess", Drew stated, hoping it might help. After he said this, Ash realized something.

"Oh...", Ash said. He then began to fumble in his jacket. He soon pulled out the pamphlet and showed the picture to the man. The hiker slowly moved his head closer to the picture to see the house. As soon as he got a good look at it, he understood.

"Oh that place! Yeah I've seen that from the lake while kayaking, beautiful looking camp. Yeah what you want to do is continue your way this road until you another road branching off to the left. Go down this road and it will lead you to the camp. It's the only one there and the road ends at its driveway", the hiker explained, using his hands for more detail. Ash put the pamphlet back into his jacket.

"Thank you!", Ash, Brock, and Drew said together. The hiker nodded.

"Anytime fellas", the hiker said. The boys then walked back to the van, waving goodbye to the hiker. He waved back as his Granbull yawned and laid down to sleep. The boys then got into the van and buckled up.

"Alright, let's buck", Brock said.

"You know where to go?", Dawn asked to be sure. Brock nodded.

"Yep, we're almost there!", Brock answered. He then started the van and began to drive off. He gave one final wave goodbye to the hiker and they were off.

"Oh I can't wait till we get to the cabin! First thing I'm gonna do is lay out in the sun!", May exclaimed. Dawn chimed in at the sound of tanning.

"Yeah! That sounds like a great idea!", Dawn replied.

"Now hold on girls, we have other things to do first. When we get there, we have to unpack. Now from what Ash's pamphlet says, there aren't enough rooms for all of us. So I suggest that we share a room by sex. All the girls get one room and all the guys get another; to save up space", Brock suggested. Everyone in the van nodded in agreement. "I would also like to get a look around, see where everything is inside and out of the camp". As he said this, he spotted the branching road on his left. He turned down the road and drove up a small hill. "We're getting closer, at the end of this road is our vacation spot", Brock said. Everyone watched anxiously as the van was driven up the hill getting closer and closer to their destination. When they reached the top of the hill, they saw the end of the road. Through the trees on the left they could see the lake shimmering from the bright sunlight. When they reached the end of the road, they looked and were amazed at what they saw. It was their destination, and the spot where they would all relax.

**Well there it is! The first chapter to what hopefully will be a great story! Sorry for the length, I wanted to get the van ride there out of the way. Now the next chapter will have more of the actual lake house and possibly a surprise or two...or three. Please tel me what you think. I want reviews, favorites, and alerts galore! Now to finish this off, I shall do what I do best, (other than write), narrate! "Now that the gang have reached the lake house, what will happen? Will Ash and the gang be able to relax as anticipated, or will something happen to ruin their vacation? Find out in the next thrilling installment of "The Lake House"!". Ah, sweet reminiscing! Well until then, I bid you all farewell!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ok, here's the second chapter ready for you. I have received alot of positive reviews for this and I am thankful for all of them. Now let's see if I can get more readers with this next chapter. Hopefully I can get this done before THIS STUPID FLY IRRITATES ME INTO INSANITY! STOP BUZZING BY MY FACE!...whoops, my apologies. Now in this chapter alot more will be explained by means of character development and personalities. Also there will be a surprise or two appearing soon within the chapter. Now comedy romances were always my specialty, but in this one I added quite a bit of drama as well. I hope I still have that touch. Also, bear in mind that I am NOT an architect nor do I ever plan on BEING an architect. So if the house is confusing to explain by means of construction or detail, I'm sorry. Well, you know the deal by now, read and review. Hope you enjoy! -EVAN AAML**

The lake House stood situated on a hill, overlooking the lake. The way it was designed, it seemed that the majority of the house was built towards the lake, with the side facing the road being smaller. Like most of the houses in the area, it was built of wood and had many windows, most of the large. A large chimney staff stuck out of the roof. Brock parked the van close to the back door and killed the engine, (A.N. in lake terms, the front of the house is the side facing the lake, so the actual front door is in reality the back door). Brock, Gary, May, and Drew opened their doors and everyone made their way out of the van. As they all looked at the house in amazement, Brock opened the trunk door.

"Ok everyone, take all of the bags that are yours and bring them in. Ash, you have the keys right?", Brock asked. As Ash walked towards the trunk and grabbed his bags, he put his hand into his pocket and pulled out two similar keys with a small chain attached to them.

"Yep, right here", Ash answered. He then made his way to the door of the camp while everyone else grabbed what was theirs. Ash unlocked the door with one of the keys and then turned the handle to open the door. He walked inside and looked around around in astonishment. To his right was a large kitchen with the works. This was visible not only by the entrance to the kitchen, but by a small cut out in the wall, which looked to be for placing food from one side to the other; like a old diner. On the other side of Ash was a rectangular table to eat at. Connected to the kitchen was a hall that lead to another room. This was not visible from Ash's position. Past the dining room was a large open room with couches, chairs, and a large t.v. This lead to another large room which was the end of the house. The side of the house that was facing the lake was made up of tall windows that nearly reached the roof. Ash walked in, followed by Misty, Gary, and Dawn. They too looked around and were amazed. As Max entered the room, the first thing he noticed were 3 duffel bags already in the house; on the floor beside the door.

"Hey, whose bags are these?", Max asked. The five others in the room, (Pikachu was on Ash's shoulder), looked at the bags on the floor and then the bags in their hands.

"Not mine", Gary said.

"Mine either", Dawn stated. Ash thought for a moment.

"Well, the people who spoke to my mom on the phone said that they would have items for us to use while here, maybe those are some of them?", Ash guessed. Outside, the others were bringing in their things. Tracy walked into the house while Brock was about to reach the door. While walking, Brock tripped over a small rock in the driveway and stumbled forward. Trying to catch himself, he turned his body and his back hit the house to the right of the door. In doing so, he accidentally pressed the small doorbell there. Everyone in the house heard the bell and wondered where it came from. Suddenly, a voice could be heard from inside the house.

"COMING!", someone yelled from upstairs. The voice sounded happy, almost in a odd way. As the sound of feet quickly making their way down the stairs filled the house, Ash tilted his head closer to Misty.

"Does that voice sound familiar to you?", Ash asked. Misty nodded. Suddenly, everyone saw a person slide across the bare wooden floor by the windows. As the figure became more recognizable, the group was astounded to find that the person was none other than James of Team Rocket. As James also recognized the teenagers, they all screamed in shock at each other.

"Ergh! The twerps!", James said shocked. At the sound of the panic, everyone else outside had entered the house. James began to panic more at the site of the group. "Guys, we have trouble, get down here quickly!", James yelled upstairs. In no time, two more figures slid across the floor. The other two were Meowth and Jessie. They looked at the gang and panicked as well.

"IT'S A TWERP-A-PALOOZA!", Meowth yelled. Jessie crossed her arms in disgust.

"Hmph, and naturally on our vacation!", Jessie stated annoyed. May stepped forward and pointed at them.

"Well why do you have to spend YOUR vacation in OUR lake house!", May yelled. James snickered in his usual fashion and waved his index finger like a metronome.

"Not so fast, this lake house is OURS...temporarily", James stated.

"WHAT!", Ash and the gang yelled. Jessie and Meowth now began to get cocky, thinking they had them on the ropes.

"Yeah, Jessie entered a contest and won da chance for us to stay here", Meowth replied coolly while crossing his arms. At the sound of this, Misty became confused.

"But wait...", Misty stated. She then turned to her left to face Ash. "Didn't your mom win this lake house in a contest?". Ash nodded.

"Yeah", Ash replied. Suddenly, Team Rocket sped towards the gang and faced them.

"WHAT!", Team Rocket yelled.

"Yeah", May started.

"Ash's mom won this in a contest too", Drew finished. As they all stared at each other wondering how this could of happened, Brock realized something and hit his head in stupidity.

"Oh duh! Read the fine print on the pamphlet", Brock said. As soon as he said this, Ash and James both started fumbling in their jackets and both pulled out the same identical pamphlet. They both looked through it in a hurry, trying to solve the problem. At the same time, they turned to the back page and read the bottom. They then sighed in disappointment.

"Many will enter, few will win", Ash and James repeated aloud.

"So then, both Jessie AND Ash's mom won", Tracy concluded. Gary became annoyed.

"So then, we all have to share this cabin", Gary stated. Team Rocket and Ash's gang then began to glare at each other in anger. Brock walked in-between them to intervene.

"Alright, so since we have to share this house, and since we all know that this would normally result in a fight, I suggest a temporary treaty", Brock suggested. Everyone looked at him confused as he pulled out a paper and pen. He leaned over the table and began to write something. When he was finished, Brock held it up for everyone to look at. "Here! Because Ash's mom and Jessie won this contest fair and square, we cannot kick each other off of the property. With this temporary treaty, we'll stay in this house TOGETHER as one big family of friends. Team Rocket can't steal Pikachu, we we can't blast you off. And NO fighting!", Brock explained. He then laid both the paper and pen down on the table next to him. "Now then, everyone sign it and then we can go about our business of checking this place out". For awhile everyone was hesitant. They weren't sure if they could manage to go through with it. After thinking for a bit, Ash looked at Pikachu on his shoulder. They looked at each other for a few seconds until Pikachu nodded. In turn, Ash nodded back. He then stepped forward, took the pen, and signed his name under Brock's. After doing this, he stepped back, allowing space for the next person to sign. Everyone still seemed hesitant. Then James suddenly stepped forward and signed his name as well. As soon as he was done, he took the pen and held it out towards the group of people. Misty took it and signed her name. Within the next few minutes, everyone had signed the treaty. Brock took it and looked through it just to be sure. He then smiled and left it on the table.

"Perfect, it's settled, from here on out we're all friends", Brock stated. Team Rocket and Ash's gang looked at each other and nodded. "Now then, just out of curiosity, how much longer have you guys been here?", Brock asked Team Rocket.

"Not dat much longer, bout five minutes. We just started looking upstairs till you's showed up", Meowth answered. Max ran forward

"Then let's see the rest of the place!", Max said excited. He then ran off to look around. Everyone once again looked at each other. They shrugged and started breaking apart to look around. Jessie looked at the treaty on the table. She stared at it for a moment and then sighed in disgust, but left it alone and walked off. Max, Pikachu, and Gary walked down the hall that connected to the kitchen to see what they could find. It only took a few steps to get from the kitchen to the end of this hall. The room that the hall was connected to led to was a laundry room. In comparison to the other rooms, it was small, but it had a washer, dryer, clothes line, and extra utensils such as towels and wash clothes. The room also continued on to another much smaller hall. While looking around, Max noticed a latch door on the floor. "Hey, what's that?", Max asked. Gary looked at it.

"Huh, a latch door. Seems to be an old style for a house like this. They had those for wine cellars and stuff", Gary explained.

"Do you think this one leads to a wine cellar?", Max asked.

"Only one way to find out", Gary said. He then bent over and grabbed the latch handle. Lifting it up, he held the door open while Max and Pikachu stuck their heads down to get a better look. The latch door covered stairs that lead to the basement. However, this basement was decorated and had furniture, bean bags, a bunk bed, rugs, small windows that were ground level to the outside, a t.v., and even it's own bathroom. Both Max and Pikachu gazed at what they saw.

"I found where the guys are staying!", Max said. Gary smiled.

"Cool, let's tell the others", Gary said. Max and Pikachu pulled their heads out of the basement and Gary lowered the latch door. The three then continued their way down the remaining hall. This hall was much shorter and led to a left turn. It turned out that the turn was actually the side of the stairs. The hall led to the other side of the living room. Gary, Max, and Pikachu walked out of the hall and into the room with the large windows. Looking out of these windows were Brock, Tracy, and Meowth.

"Wow, can you believe this view!", Brock said surprised. Tracy nodded.

"I know! The way the sun makes the lake sparkle, and the trees swaying in the breeze just slightly, it's amazing!", Tracy commented as he sketched the view.

"Yeah, a cat could get used to dis", Meowth said to himself. During this, Misty ran up the two flights of stairs. This led to a small balcony that hung over the first level. From the balcony's edge, Misty could see the guys looking out the window. The balcony itself was connected to a hall that went in two different directions. to the right was a large bedroom that was situated towards the lake. In this bedroom were Ash, James, and Dawn. This bedroom was the master bedroom in the camp, complete with a king sized bed, large t.v., some more furniture such as a chair, it's own bathroom, and a large bed-set complete with cabinets and a large mirror. The bedroom also had a glass door that lead to a large porch, which was where Ash, James, and Dawn were. This porch started at the middle of the front side of the house and stretched over towards the other side, ending just before the back door where they entered. Misty opened the glass door and stepped outside. Ash turned to look at her and smiled.

"Hey, there you are! Come and look at this view!", Ash said. Misty walked beside him and looked. The view was the same as the one downstairs, but with a higher elevation. James was leaning against the wooden stained railing while Dawn was to the other side of him. Ash and Misty were by the door. James looked over to Misty briefly.

"So what brings you here twerpete?" James asked carelessly. Misty realized that it would take some time before they started calling them by their actual names and disregarded it.

"I was invited", Misty answered. Ash nodded.

"After my mom told me to take her place here, I invited both my old friends and new friends to have fun together", Ash explained. James smiled in a serious yet at the same time joking way.

"Oh, so you're trying to renew the sparks between you two?", James asked. Ash and Misty looked at him, then at each other, and finally blushed and moved apart.

"I can't believe you guys STILL believe that!", Ash yelled.

"Remember, we're JUST friends!", Misty yelled as well. James smiled.

"Sure, that's what they all say", James said looking back at the view. Misty and Ash were still blushing with embarrassment. Ash looked around and noticed that the porch continued on to the other side of the house.

"Uh, I'm going to...check this side of the porch", Ash said slowly moving over to the other end of the porch. Misty noticed this and tried to do the same.

"Uh, let me join you", Misty said doing the same. They then quickly made their way to the other side of the porch where they could not be seen or bothered. Dawn watched the whole thing and wondered to herself. Why, particularly Misty, did they act this way, and for that matter, earlier today? She walked over to the other side of James to not be seen by Ash or Misty. She then approached him.

"Hey James, why do they act like that when you talk to them about being a couple, don't they know it's a joke?", Dawn asked. James looked over his right shoulder to see her.

"Hmm? Oh those two? Well for one thing, I wasn't joking, and secondly, they've had a crush on each other since they started their journey together", James explained. Dawn was shocked.

"Woah! Really!", Dawn said quietly yet still with disbelief.

"Yep, as a matter of fact, they met on Ash's first day of being a Pokemon Trainer. And ever since then, they've been inseparable", James explained.

"Then that means, they've liked each other going on...quite a few years now!", Dawn realized.

"Yep, 7 years to be exact, (A.N. this is just a guess, I understand it should be more like 12, but I want them to be teenagers, not adults.). They're both to shy to admit how they feel, especially her", James said. Dawn put all of this new information together and became excited.

"Oh! That's so romantic! We've got to get them together!", Dawn decided. James chuckled briefly. Dawn looked at him quizzically.

"Well good luck with that one. Even Jessie, Meowth, and I have tried that and no one could get them together, what makes you think you can? Especially since you're the newbie?", James asked. This hit Dawn harder than James anticipated. As he continued to look at the scenery, Dawn thought all of this out. she knew she was considered the new one, but didn't think that it could separate her from the others like this. She wasn't sure how she was going to be accepted by all of the people here, let alone get Ash and Misty together. She looked down, slightly depressed. Meanwhile, to the left of the balcony inside the house were May, Drew, and Jessie. This side of the balcony had a hall that lead to two rooms. The right side of the hall had another bathroom, but the left side had two doors, one quite a ways before the other. They both led to a very large room, which was were the girls and Drew were located. Unlike most of the rooms downstairs, this room had wall to wall carpeting. It also had the fireplace that the chimney was connected to, a piano in the corner of the room, a billiards table in the center, and on the wall a map of the lake and surrounding area. May looked around in awe.

"Wow, this room is so cool! I can see myself spending alot of time in here!", May said. Drew picked up a billiards stick and held it, taking aim at the cue ball. He then struck the ball and it sped forward and broke the set of balls.

"Yeah, comfy room", Drew commented. He then placed the stick down on the table. May turned around from the table and noticed something by the second door.

"Hey, what's that?", May asked pointing to a black metal spiral shaped object going through an opening in the ceiling. Jessie and Drew approached her and looked at it.

"It's a spiral staircase", Drew said.

"I wonder where it goes", May said.

"Off hand I'd say the attic", Jessie answered. May then ran to the foot of the stairs.

"Well let's go see!", May said. She then ran up the stairs. Drew followed by closely followed soon after by Jessie. When they reached the upstairs they looked around. The attic was by no means small, but it was compact. There was only one window, which was small and circular in the attic, but due to how close it was to the sun, it was enough to light the whole attic. There was a couch, rug, small t.v., and mini refrigerator. May gazed at the attic in awe. "Wow, this place is awesome! It's like a little hang out, a hide-away! I call this for the girls!", May yelled. Drew laughed and casually flipped his hair like he always does.

"Fine, I'm sure we guys can find some other cool place, most likely even cooler as a matter of fact", Drew said cockily. May looked at him in a combination of anger and challenge.

"Oh is that true!", May yelled. Drew smirked.

"Yep", Drew replied.

"Well I'd like to see you try!", May yelled. She then crossed her arms and walked past Drew, making sure to look away from him. However, she did not notice the stairs in front of her and stepped over them. She felt the sensation of stepping over nothing and panicked. "Woah, woah, WAH!", May yelled. Right before she fell, Drew dove for her.

"May no!", Drew yelled. He managed to grab May's hand and pull her away from the stairs, but the dive caused him to lose his balance. So instead he was the one to fall down the spiral staircase. He "ohed" and "awed" his way down until he landed at the bottom with a thud. May gasped and ran down the spiral staircase. When she reached the bottom, she saw Drew lying on his back, his head toward the foot of the stairs. May ran to her side and put Drew's head on her lap.

"Drew! Are you ok!", May asked concerned. Drew looked up at her and smiled a goofy grin.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. Just a little dizzy from the spirals", Drew said. May couldn't help but smile.

"You saved me Drew, I don't know what to do to repay you", May said sincerely.

"Will you come outside with me to see what's there?", Drew asked. May giggled.

"I'd be delighted", May said cheerfully. Jessie then walked down the spiral staircase and saw May and Drew at the bottom.

"Oh please!", Jessie said annoyed at the cute scene between them. She walked over Drew, careful not to step on him, and then walked out of the room. May watched her leave with a little annoyance but disregarded it. She helped Drew up to his feet and they left as well. On the way down the stairs they ran into Ash, Misty, Dawn, and James. The group then walked down the stairs to meet with the others. When they did, Brock stood by the back door.

"Alright, we looked in the house, let's check the outside shall we?", Brock said. He then opened the door and everyone walked out. On the side of the house, the same side that the upstairs porch was located, there was a small stone oath that led to the lake. While walking down this path, Ash noticed a large shed to their left, slightly hidden by some trees. Like the house, it was made out of wood.

"Hey look at that", Ash said. Misty, May, Drew, and Tracy stopped and looked while everyone else continued their way down the path.

"It's a shed", Tracy pointed out.

"Now I wonder what's in there", May said. She then ran to the shed, followed closely by the others. The doors to the shed were like barn doors, they slid open going opposite directions. Both May and Drew grabbed a door and slid it open. Everyone then gazed inside the shed. Inside where three large canoes, a rowboat, a couple of single person kayaks, a paddleboat, two electric trolling motors, some floats, many oars, and life jackets for everyone.

"Woah! Look at all of this stuff!", Misty said.

"There's enough stuff here for everyone to use!", Ash exclaimed. The gang then all looked at each other in excitement. "Ok guys, I think we found our first activity here". Meanwhile, everyone else had reached the lake. The lake shore itself was fairly large, about 100 ft. across and going out to the lake even more. Since their lake house was on the corner of the lake itself, they had less lake to their right then to their left. They were also the only lake house in sight. They had a large wooden dock that went out 70 ft. from shore and ended at a sundeck. Brock, Dawn, and Gary were at the beginning of the dock, looking at the water.

"Wow, the pamphlet wasn't kidding! This water really _is _crystal clear!", Dawn said amazed.

"Yeah, the people and Pokemon do a good job cleaning it", Brock said. Gary looked around for a moment and realized something.

"Hey, where's Max? He was here a second ago", Gary noticed. Brock chuckled.

"He's already in the water", Brock said pointing out a little ways from them. Gary and Dawn looked to see Max in the shallow water, his shorts pulled up to not get wet. He was playing with a wild Seaking that had come along to investigate. Dawn smiled at the sight.

"Awww, he looks so cute playing with the Pokemon", Dawn said. Both Brock and Gary looked at Dawn for a moment, and then at each other. When it finally registered in their minds what she said, they started to break into fits of laughter. Dawn looked at them annoyed. "Hey! Cut it out!", Dawn yelled. Both Brock and Gary continued to laugh. Suddenly, they heard yelling from behind them.

"You guys might want to move!", someone yelled. Dawn, Brock, and Gary recognized Ash's voice and turned around. Suddenly, they saw Ash and Tracy running towards them at top speed, carrying over their heads one of the three canoes. Ash was in the front while Tracy was in the back. They had lost control of their speed going down the hill and could not stop. Brock, Gary, and Dawn screamed in panic. Brock and Gary quickly dove out of the way, but Dawn wasn't able to in time. She quickly ducked and covered her head. As Ash and Tracy approached her, they spread their legs apart so that Dawn would go in-between them as they ran. After they passed, Dawn looked up, wondering what had happened. She could see the others carrying the rest of the canoes down. The girls carried one, and Drew dragged the other one with Pikachu pushing the back. As Brock, Gary, and Dawn stood up, Ash and Tracy continued to run, stil unable to stop themselves. At the end of the long dock, still unaware of the present danger, were Team Rocket, taking in the sights. They took in a deep breath of the forest and lake air.

"Ah, one this I love about vacations are no problems", Jessie started.

"No thinking", James continued.

"No worries", Meowth finished. Suddenly, they felt the dock shake. They turned around to see Ash and Tracy running towards them.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!", Team Rocket screamed. Ash and Tracy panicked.

"Tracy, throw the canoe into the water, over the left side! Ready!", Ash yelled behind him.

"Ready!", Tracy replied.

"One, two, three!", they both yelled together. They then lifted the canoe and threw it over their left side. But the weight of the canoe combined with the force of the running caused them to lose their balance and they too were thrown. The canoe landed hard on the water, but perfectly next to the dock. Ash and Tracy landed just past the canoe with a splash. Everyone on shore ran onto the dock, saw the two boys in the water, and started laughing. Ash and Tracy popped their heads out of the water and looked at the people on the dock.

"Alright, alright, quit laughing!", Ash said irritated. Tracy shrugged.

"Well, while we're down here, we can help put the other canoes in", Tracy said.

**Wow, nearly 5000 words already! Sorry for the length again, I tend to lose track of myself while typing. I think that these chapters are gonna be alot longer than my other stories just because of the length of this one! I hope you are all enjoying this as much as I am. I am sick right now so not sure when I will update again, but I think this will be enough to get you by for now. I thought I would have more time to explain the characters more though. Before I hand-wrote this story, I thought out all of the little things to add to it. I obviously had the main plot being the trip itself, but I added a few smaller plots as well. Some of them I explained in this chapter, the other ones will be explained in the next few chapters, let's see if you can figure them out! Be sure to tell your friends about this story, I got alot of reviews for it and I like it, hoping for more now! "With the gang now familiar with the lake house, will everyone be able to manage being around each other for the whole trip! Will drama be created! Will romances once hidden be revealed! Find out in the next thrilling installment of, "EVAN AAML's The Lake House"!" Nice, good being back again! Until then, this is EVAN AAML, goodnight!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	3. Chapter 3

**My oh my, it has been quite awhile since I last updated this hasn't it? I'm sorry for the delay, I'm sure a few of you thought I was going to stop for another year! Well I was ready to update a few days after the last post, but unfortunately I found myself to be in a "little" trouble with the managers of . As you know, I had a story up about my return to this site, I say "had" of course because a reader or two decided to report it to the site stating that it was not a story and that I was violating the rules. Now their names will not be mentioned of course, and I respect the decision that the managers on this site made, but to be honest, I am a little disappointed to the reporters. Oh well, what can I do? They deleted the story and they blocked me from updating for a while. Now obviously they didn't block me for this long, well, after the block was up and I was ready to update, I was plagued by some..."personal issues". Now I am not going to go into detail on them, but let's just say that I found it ironic that a romance author had these problems. So this issue had to be resolved and that held me up for quite awhile. Naturally this all started on my birthday, (which was Sept. 12th for those who care, I turned 19, a boring birthday yes, but I don't mind). Anyway, enough of my problems, let's get back to "The Lake House". And as a little heads up, I have something REALLLLLLLYYYYYYYYYYYYY important to tell you all at the end of this chapter, if I forget, remind me in a review!**

**-EVAN AAML**

After everyone had placed the canoes in the water and Ash and Tracy had pulled themselves back onto the dock, they hoped in and everyone was off. The three canoes were being paddled down the lake, a slight distance from the lake house. The lake was too big to go around completely by canoe, but they were a fair distance away from land to be able to appreciate the ride. They were all enjoying the scenery and the quiet around them. In the canoe closest to shore was May, Drew, James, Brock, and Gary. In the middle canoe were Ash, Misty, Tracy, Pikachu, and Meowth; and in the final canoe there was Dawn, Max, and Jessie. As they paddled, May took in a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"Hmm, I love the wilderness, the smell of flowers and the fresh air filling your lungs; the clear water and beautiful view, it's magnificent", May said taking it all in.

"Oh it's beautiful alright, and the scenery isn't so bad either", Drew said. May turned around to see that Drew was not looking at the wilderness, but was looking at her. May blushed and smiled.

"Oh Drew! That's so sweet of you!", May said. Drew blushed himself. In the other canoe, Ash noticed this and smirked.

"Eeeeeeeewwwwwwww, gross! I hope you two don't start kissing in front of us, that would be weird!", Ash said imitating a little child. May looked back at Ash with a smile.

"As weird as you looked when you fell in the water?", May asked. Drew chuckled slightly and high fived May for the comeback. Ash pretended to be offended. He grabbed onto Misty from the back and buried his face in her back. Unbeknownst to him, Misty blushed immensely.

"Misty, those big bullies were picking on me!", Ash said still acting like a child. At the realization of the joke, Misty relaxed herself and hid her blush. She turned around slightly to pat Ash on the head.

"There there, it's alright", Misty said pretending to consul him. She then looked at May and Drew. "You two should be ashamed of yourselves", she jokingly scolded. May and Drew stuck their tongues out at her. Gary watched the whole ordeal and smirked at Ash.

"That's right Ash, run to your secret lover for help", Gary commented. Ash turned to him with a smile on his face, but then faked shock.

"Who told you my secret!...uhm, I mean...no she isn't!", Ash joked. Misty blushed again from the remark. But unlike last time, Dawn was able to notice the reaction.

"There she goes again! I thought what James said earlier was simply his opinion, but maybe not. Maybe...Misty really does love Ash!", Dawn thought. She then took her attention to Ash. "Then I wonder, how does Ash...really feel about Misty?". During this, Gary had continued to make jokes at Ash's expense. By this time, Brock and James themselves were getting involved and Ash had had enough.

"Ergh, alright that's it!", Ash yelled. He then looked at everyone in his canoe with a mischievous smile. The others figured out what he was planning and smiled back. As quickly as they could, Ash, Misty, Tracy, Pikachu, and Meowthmoved their canoe closer to Gary's. Before they realized what was going to happen, Ash and the others grabbed onto the side of their canoe and tipped it over. Gary, Brock, James, May, and Drew were sent into the water with a splash. Ash and the others all burstedinto laughter. James and Gary quickly popped out of the water and grabbed onto the tipped canoe. May and Drew popped out next. May's mouthwas filled with water and she spat it out like a fountain. Of course, the water landed on Drew's head. Brock also popped up, but instead of reacting in annoyance like the others, he simply went into a dead man's float and smiled; looking up at the clear sky.

"Well that was refreshing", Brock said. As Ash and the others in his canoe continued to laugh, Jessie looked at them smugly.

"Jeez, what is it about teenagers being so immature?", Jessie said to herself. Dawn and Max looked at her.

"They're just having fun!", Max explained.

"Yeah, you're only a kid once, why miss out on experiences like that?", Dawn stated. Jessie seemed to not care for their response.

"Hmm, whatever", Jessie said. She then placed her paddle down on the bottom of the canoe and layed down; using the empty seats behind her for support.

"You just need to loosen up, enjoy yourself!", Max said with a smile. Dawn smiled too.

"Yeah, like so", Dawn said. She then reached over the edge of the canoe and put her hands into the water. Dawn made a bowl with her hands and scooped up some water. She then lifted the water over Max's head and spilled it on top of him. Dawn started to giggle as Max shook his head like a dog to get the water off. Jessie looked at the two kids laughing and then shrugged and continued to relax. With help from Ash and the others in his canoe, they were able to bring the tipped canoe back upright. The others soon began to pull themselves into it and they all made their way back to the camp. After a few minutes of talking and enjoying the sites, they made it safely back to shore. As they beached the canoes, they all began to head inside, (mostly to change from the water). Ash was the first to reach the front door and walked inside. When he did, he noticed that their bags were still by the back door.

"Hey guys, we still haven't figured out where we're going to sleep", Ash said looking back to the others outside. Max and Gary looked back at him and smiled.

"Oh don't sorry", Gary said.

"We found the perfect place!" Max yelled. He then ran inside and picked up his duffel bag. "Come on, we'll show you!". He then ran down the hall towards the laundry room. Gary chuckled slightly and then he and the other guys went in to pick up their bags. May then looked at the girls.

"And I found the perfect spot for us!" May said. She picked managed to pick up all of her bags in one fall swoop. "It's in the attic, come on!". Meanwhile, Gary opened up the latch door to the basement and walked down the stairs, followed closely by the others. Max was already down there, looking around. He turned to see the others coming down the stairs.

"Is this place awsome or what!", Max said excited.

"Alot of space, nice view from the windows, perfect!", Brock stated looking out one of the small windows facing the lake. As the others looked around, Tracy stepped put of the bathroom, carrying with him the clothes that we wore when he and Ash fell into the lake.

"The bathroom's nice. Everything in there is brand new and clean", Tracy commented. James quickly ran in to be the next one to change. As the others placed their bags on the floor near where they were going to sleep and got a feel for the area, Drew smiled.

"Wow, this place is loads better than where the girls are staying", Drew said. This got Ash and Gary's attention.

"Where are the girls staying?", Ash asked.

"In the attic. It's nice, but it's got nothing on us though", Drew stated. Gary laughed.

"Hmm, that's interesting to know", Gary said with a smug little grin.

"I wouldn't try anything if I were you", Drew said. Ash and Gary looked at him confused.

"Why not?", Ash asked. Drew shook his head in disbelief that Ash would honestly not understand.

"Oh come on Ash, you should know better than me how much of a pain those girls could be. Trying to upset just one of them would be painful, imagine trying to do it to all of them at once!", Drew said. Ash and Gary took this into consideration and gulped. Particularly the image of Misty's mallet came into mind.

"Huh...good point. I guess then we won't be trying anything like THAT on this vacation", Ash said nervously. On the other side of the room, Brock looked around and found a relatively large cabinet with a tile top. He went behind it and saw the cabinet doors.

"Hmm, I wonder what's in here", Brock said as he reached for the handles. He opened the doors and gazed inside. He suddenly grinned stupidly and chuckled. "Hehe, hey guys, look what I found!', Brock said pulling out what he found and showing it to the others. In his hands were two bottles filled with rum. "It's a mini bar, boy are we gonna have fun tonight!". The others couldn't help but laugh.

"Well good, but that's for later tonight. Let's hurry up and get back outside, it's too good of a day to stay in", Ash said. After he, James, Gary, and Drew changed out of their wet clothes, they all went back upstairs. The girls were already waiting for them, (May was the only one who needed to change out of wet clothes). "Great, you're already done, let's get going, I don't know when it will get dark out here", Ash stated. Everyone then stepped back outside to do whatever it was they wanted. Ash stepped aside as the others walked past him towards the lake, but as Misty walked by, he grabbed her hand. Dawn noticed this and slipped to the side, hidden behind a tree to see. "Hey Misty, want to go exploring the woods with me?", Ash asked. Pikachu smiled.

"Pika!", Pikachu said happily. Misty giggled.

"Heh, Ash Ketchum, always exploring and ready for an adventure...alright", Misty answered. Ash jumped for joy, which only made Misty giggle more. The three of them then made their way down the path they found earlier, heading towards the forest. Dawn continued to watch them.

"They're going in there, and together none the less. Time to investigate!", Dawn thought. She then followed Ash, Misty, and Pikachu; quickly but quietly. It didn't take long for Dawn to catch up to them. She had made sure she was close enough to be able to hear their conversations, but far enough back where she could hide. As Dawn followed, Ash and Misty had struck up a conversation.

"So Misty, what do you think about this trip so far?", Ash asked. Misty looked up at him with a gleam in her eyes.

"I love it! I'm so glad you invited me!", Misty said. Ash smiled.

"Well no problem, that's what I was hoping for", Ash said. Misty stopped walking for a moment and looked at him with a puzzled face. Ash stopped as well.

"What do you mean?", Misty asked.

"Mist...you're my best friend...", Ash stated. Pikachu then glared at him.

"Pika!", Pikachu said annoyed. Ash chuckled nervously.

"Ok, best _human_friend", Ash corrected. Pikachu smiled at the change. Ash then directed his attention towards Misty again. "I want to make you happy". Misty smiled. She tried to talk, but chocked up slightly.

"Thank you", Misty said in a whisper. Ash smiled back to her. He then turned around and continued walking, Misty following close behind. Dawn kept up as well. Eventually, they found a clearing up ahead. This clearing was a large rock embedded into the hill they were walking on. To their right was the lake, which glimmered below them with radiance. Misty ran up to the rock's edge to see the sight. "Wow! This is so beautiful!", Misty said amazed. Ash walked beside her, Pikachu still on his shoulder.

"Wow, it is", Ash stated.

"This has got to be the most romantic spot for miles around! And only we know about it", Misty said. Ash nodded.

"Alright then, we'll keep it as our little secret, that way, we can come whenever we want to by ourselves", Ash said. Misty turned around with a smirk.

"Hmm, you want to keep this a secret huh? Why do you want this romantic spot between us? Do you plan on seducing me here?", Misty asked jokingly. Ash began to blush and step back, his hands waving in the air.

"What! No! I...uh", Ash said stumbling on words. Misty smiled and walked past him, her hands crossed behind her.

"Relax Ash, it's nothing, I know you don't love me like that", Misty said. Ash looked to her, but her back was facing him. Because of this, he did not see Misty's smile suddenly turn into a sad frown. However, Dawn did notice this.

"Oh...yeah, right", Ash said. But then he also made a sad face. Dawn watched in shock.

"They're...both depressed!", Dawn said quietly to herself. She then went into deep thought. "They both became sad when Misty said that. I know they're upset about the same thing, but they don't know that the other one is too! Now I know that they're both hiding something from the other. All I need now is a second opinion, I'm going to ask Misty how she truly feels...tonight!". Dawn then brought her attention back to the couple, who had both by now hidden their sad faces.

"Well anyway, we should probably be heading back", Ash said. Dawn panicked and quickly ran back towards the camp. Ash, Misty, and Pikachuhowever took their time. But unlike their way to this hidden spot, their way back wasn't filled withtalking or laughter, just with a dead, forlongingsilence. When they returned to the camp, most everyone was still outside, including Dawn, who watched them carefully. She was playing beside the lake house withMax, whom seemed to be enjoying himself. May and Drew were on the dock sun-tanning while Tracy sketched the surrounding area next to them. Brock and Gary were no wheres to be seen. Jessie and James were on the porch upstairs, overlooking the lake. They were sitting in the lawn chairs up there and had in their hands glasses filled with a liquid that glowed in the sunlight, most likely wine or shampaigne. Meowthwas likely up there withthem but was not in sight. Although their time alone was awkward, they didn't want the others to notice, so they quickly smiled and acted as though nothing happened. They both approached Max and Dawn.

"Hey, do you know where Brock or Gary are?", Misty asked, trying to make conversation. Dawn did not know their where-abouts either, but luckily Max spoke up.

"Brock is inside doing something, and Gary took the van to run an errand for Brock", Max answered.

"He must be preparing for dinner, I better go help", Misty said.

"Yeah me too", Ash stated. The three of them then made their way into the house. As they left, Dawn watched them carefully, relieved that they didn't suspect her of following them. Suddenly, she felt a poke on her shoulder. She turned around to see Max, who was blushing slightly. She smiled at the cute expression as Max held out his hand towards her.

"Uh, Dawn...th-this is for you", Max said. Dawn looked in his hand to see a sparkling white rock. It was a rather common rock to the region, but this one in particular seemed to sparkle more than the others and could easily be considered special. Dawn's eyes glittered like the rocka s she took it from Max and held it in her fingers.

"Wow, it's so pretty!", Dawn said. She then looked at Max, a hint of sentimentality on her face. "You got this for me?". Max put his hand behind his head and looked towards the ground.

"Uh, yeah. I th-thought you might...well you know, like it", Max said stuttering. Dawn looked at Max for a moment. The rock was nothing particularly valuable, but she was amazed that someone would think of her in such a way. She clenched the rock tighter in her hand, a smile growing on her face.

"Aw, thank you!", Dawn said. She then leaned over and gave Max a little hug. Max's face turned completely red but luckily Dawn didn't notice. Suddenly, Tracy walked up to them. He held in his hand his pencil and sketchbook.

"Hey guys, mind if I sketch you two? I'm making pictures for the trip", Tracy asked. Dawn looked up at him and smiled.

"Sure!", Dawn said. She then embraced Max yet again, this time moving her head closer to Max's. She turned and smiled towards Tracy. Max also faced Tracy, but was to nervous to smile. "Hey Tracy, why are you sketching us when you could just use an actual camera?", Dawn asked curiously. Tracy continued to sketch.

"Because Gary owns the camera, and not only is it his, but it's expensive. It's the one he uses for his research when he travels. I don't want to use it without asking for his permission; and since he's not here, I'll just draw. Besides, to be honest, I think it's better when I draw them. I just feel like they're more...relatable, you know?", Tracy said. Being the great sketcher that he is, it took no time to finish the scene. He then made some finishing touches and smiled. "There, done! Thanks guys!". Tracy began to walk away. As he did, Dawn released Max and turned to face him.

"Hey wait, aren't you going to show us the drawing?", Dawn asked. Tracy turned to her and smiled.

"It's a surprise, I'll let you see it when we go back home and I have all of them done", Tracy explained. He then left, leaving a confused and annoyed Dawn behind. She turned and gave a huff.

"Hmph! Can you believe him Max!...Max?", Dawn said, realizing that she was not getting a reply. She looked to see Max spacing out, blushing. She reached her hand out towards him. "Max?". She touched his shoulder and he jumped in the air.

"AAAUUUGGGHHH!", Max yelled in the air. He then landed on the ground next to her. Dawn simply giggled. Meanwhile, Ash, Misty, and Pikachuwere helping Brock prepare for dinner. Brock was placing something wrapped in tin foil into the oven while Ash mashed something in a round container. Misty was making a dessert treat with Pikachu's help. This of course meant that she would sneak some frosting for Pikachu to lick, which he enjoyed immensely.

"So Brock, I know we have alot of people here, but don't you think this is alot of food? I mean, I'm not complaining, I'll end up eating like...half of this but...", Ash said. While he said this, Brock checked something he had placed in the oven earlier.

"Well you're right, it is alot. But I plan on having alot of leftovers, so it...ergh! Saves me from cooking more later", Brock said as he lifted a large object from the oven onto the stove to look at it. He then looked at Ash and suddenly a grin appeared on his face. "Ash, can you not cook without making a mess?". Ash's work station, (himself included), was covered in a white substance. Ash looked around at it and himself and made a goofy grin.

"Nope, guess not", Ash said. Just then, the back door opened and Gary walked in, holding a rather large bag and the van keys. He walked over to the opening in the wall that lead to the kitchen and looked at Misty, who was the closest to him at the time.

"Hi", Gary said. Misty looked up at him.

"Hi", Misty responded. Gary then put the van keys onto the counter next to him and held up the bag.

"I got it, sorry it took so long", Gary said to Brock. He then walked into the kitchen and gently tossed the bag to Brock, who caught it with ease. Brock pulled out of the bag something big that was wrapped in a white paper wrap. Gary then looked at Ash. Noticing him, he pointed to the teenager's face. "Ash, you got a little something right there...and there...and, oh for Ho-Oh's sake you got it everywhere! Pikachu you might want to help your trainer here, he's incapable of doing it himself", Gary said. Pikachu quickly ran across the kitchen counter and got to Ash. He then began to remove the white substance from Ash and the counters. Most of it he placed into the bowl, some he liked away. Brock placed the wrapped object onto the counter and opened it, revealing a large slab of dark meat. Ash looked at it curiously.

"Hey Brock, what's that?", Ash asked. Brock grinned as he began to season it.

"Ah, this is venison! A nice treat!", Brock said smiling, as if he was given a present for Christmas. Ash looked at him in bewilderment.

"What's venison?", Ash asked. Misty now walked over to them, her face slightly smeared in what appeared to be frosting.

"Yeah, it sounds weird for a meat name", Misty said. Brock continued to work on the meat.

"Venison is Stantler meat", Brock answered. Both Ash and Misty looked at him in utter shock and horror.

"STANTLER MEAT!", Ash and Misty yelled, picturing the deer Pokemon in their minds.

"Yeah, I go to that little store we passed on the way here, you know, the one we stopped at for directions, and asked for some. The guy there said they were fresh out. All of a sudden, the door opens and that guy with the Granbull walks in dragging a _huge _Stantlercarcass and a shotgun. He throws it on the counter right in front of us and says he just got it while out hunting. So the store clerk takes it to the back and starts chopping it up! And while he's doing that, the guy who shot it begins to mop up the blood in the store. Then the clerk hands me some and I leave, that's why I'm late", Gary explained in detail. He then looked at Ash and Misty, who both looked traumatized from the story.

"You're telling me that you expect us to eat something that was alive not even an hour ago!", Misty asked annoyed.

"I think I'm going to be sick!", Ash said nauseated. Gary looked at them both annoyed.

"Oh toughen up! Jeez, I'd never expect you two of anyone here to let this bother you!", Gary said. Brock covered the venison with tin foil and placed it in the oven.

"It's alright, I expect at least one person to not like it. I made alot, so you'll still be able to get a decent meal without eating the venison", Brock said removing the previous object from the oven and placing it on the stove. He then closed the oven door. As he set the timer, Ash looked at Misty. He suddenly smiled and gave a chuckle.

"Liked the frosting a bit there Mist?", Ash asked. Misty looked at him confused and then remembered her face. She also giggled. She grabbed a paper towel, wetted it down, and then began to remove the frosting from her face. As she did so, Ash gazed at her amazingly. He thought she looked so cute there, wiping her face down. But not wanting to get caught gazing, he shook it off and made a goofy grin. "You know Mist, I've never had the urge to lick your face as much as I do now", Ash said. Misty knew very well that he was joking, but that didn't stop her from making a remark of her own.

"So are you saying you've had the urge to lick my face before!", Misty asked pretending to be annoyed. Ash put his index finger in the air and opened his mouth, as if he had something to say back. But unable to think of a good comeback, he just remained silent and eventually walked away. Misty and Gary looked at each other, and then chuckled as Pikachu ran after his friend.

**Well, here's an end to another chapter! Once again, sorry for the delay. As I already stated, I had alot of "personal issues" to deal with first. But enough about that, time for the big news I mentioned earlier. Now, some of you may already know, but by the time I had started writing this chapter, the news had JUST come out, so sorry for the delay. Anyway, I had a friend of mine show me the trailer to a movie that he had found on a Japanese game site. This trailer was the last 38 seconds of a supposedly 3-4 minute trailer that was made by some company in Japan. This was a bootleg video, meaning that it wasn't complete and that it was just a sample, so that perhaps someone with alot of money could take it and make an actual movie. Well anyway, I watched this trailer and was amazed at what I saw. Turns out that this trailer was for none else than a...wait for it...LIVE ACTION POKEMON MOVIE! Now, I know what you're thinking, wtf. Now the movie critic in me, (which I am by the way) says that this is a bad idea, and that it will probably be the next "Dragonball" (which made me depressed, how could they ruin my childhood like that?). But the AAML author in me says that this is FINALLY our opportunity ladies and gentleman! Now we can finally see what we have all wished for for years! Now, I want to warn you, this is not exactly a good quality trailer, and alot of people think it's fake. I can see why they think it, but I know it's real. Also, it is NOTHING like what we expect of a Pokemon movie. To put it in perspective, Jessie and James have guns...and someone blows up in a car by a Voltorb...yeah, extreme. By now, it's on Youtube. Just look up "live action Pokemon movie leaked trailer", and you'll see it. Tell me what you think both of this chapter AND this sudden news. Review/favorite/alert please, I miss the e-mails! "With Ash and Misty's hidden romance now known by Dawn, will she be able to help these two get together, or will she only make it worse in the long run? Will the gang be able to enjoy their trip at the lake house? Find out next time on EVAN AAML's "The Lake House"!". Until then, this is EVAN AAML, signing off!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	4. Chapter 4

**Well, here's another update for you all, I decided that I should post it sooner rather than later, I know, I'm such a nice guy. So, maybe it's just me, but did you ever notice how you can EASILY help someone with their relationship problems AND right good fan-fics about romance and yet STILL can't help yourself? I have that exact problem. I literally have helped more people than I can count with their problems, I write tons of romance stories, and yet when it comes to me I am just as nervous and unprepared as anybody. And I have to say, my relationship status is pretty sad at this point. Let's just say that the only one I'm interested in barely knows what love is...literally, she told me that. Oh well, such is life. Enough of my life's soap opera, let's get on with the update shall we?**

**-EVAN AAML**

Before long, dinner was all prepared and ready to be eaten. Everyone had come inside by this time and were filling their plates with all of the food that Brock and his helpers had prepared for them. Because there were so many people there, Max, Dawn, Tracy, May, and Drew volunteered to eat in the living room. Tracy sat in a large chair beside a nightstand that, like the rest of the house, was decorated to the outdoors theme. On the nightstand was a lamp, which was turned on. Next to Tracy were Max and Dawn, who sat together on a small couch that was positioned perfectly in front of the t.v. (which was turned off for the dinner). May sat in another, smaller chair that was against a wall. This was the closest seat from the Kitchen. Drew sat on the carpet next to May, using his lap for a table. The others in the room had t.v. tables for their food and dishes. At the table sat everyone else. Ash and Misty sat beside each other on the side closest to the Kitchen. James and Gary sat opposite them. Brock and Jessie took the heads of the table, (Brock close to the back door, Jessie close to the living room). Meowth and Pikachu sat by their respective trainers. Ash, Misty, Gary, Brock, and Pikachu had not started eating like the others because they watched in horror as Team Rocket ravaged through their food like wild Pokemon. They shoveled it down their throats, not considering proper table manners. Realizing that they were being watched, they stopped eating and looked at the others.

"What! We don't get to eat alot like you kids do every day!", Jessie yelled before continuing. James laid back in his seat to let his stomach rest.

"You see, since we're always on the move trying to capture your Pikachu, we never have enough time to sit down and enjoy a meal...not that we could afford one anyway. So we need to stock up when we can!", James explained. Meowth lifted his head from eating with tears in his eyes.

"And it feels like Heaven!", Meowth said happily. Gary, trying to change the subject, looked at Ash.

"At least they don't worry about the venison!", Gary said mockingly. Ash looked at him with annoyance.

"Hey! It's perfectly normal for people to freak out over something like that!", Ash defended.

"I highly doubt that", Gary responded.

"Well you know what! I bet we're not the only ones who won't eat it!", Ash said. Gary smirked.

"Oh really?", Gary asked. Ash smirked back.

"Yeah! Uh...Pikachu won't eat it!", Ash said triumphantly. Gary looked at Pikachu, who was eating a slice of apple pie with ketchup on it. Although he was disgusted, he looked back at Ash with the same cocky smirk.

"Try again, Pikachu are vegetarian Pokemon", Gary explained. Ash doubted this, but felt it best not to argue with a Pokemon Professor, even if we was just starting out. He then began to think of another way to prove it.

"Uh...oh! Guys! Don't eat the venison, it's Stantler!", Ash yelled out into the other room. Immediatly there was a response.

"STANTLER! EEEWWW!", May and Dawn yelled. From Max came a sound of disgust, although not as theatrical as the girl's response. Tracy and Drew on the other hand already knew and ignored them, continuing to eat. Ash made a triumphant smile.

"SEE!", Ash said. Gary ignored him, feeling that he was defeated. May turned around and hung over the chair to look out into the Kitchen from where she was sitting.

"But what if this was one of those Stantler we saw earlier this morning!", May asked worried.

"Well it probably was!", Gary responded, still hurt from his "loss". May sat back in her seat and looked at the venison on her plate.

"Ew! I can't eat this!", May said disgusted. She then used her fork to move it away from the rest of the food on her plate. Drew looked up to make eye contact.

"So you don't want it?", Drew asked.

"No", May said sadly, thinking of the poor Stantler that met it's fate for the meat.

"Ok!", Drew responded as he used his fork to pick up the meat from her plate. Since the amount of venison she took was already small, he immediately placed it into his mouth. May looked at him disgusted and shocked.

"DREW! How could you eat that! How could you eat something you might of seen alive only hours ago!", May asked. Drew looked up t her and swallowed the meat.

"Like that", Drew responded. He then took a piece from his plate and placed that in his mouth. May looked on in horror.

"WILL YOU STOP DOING THAT!", May yelled. Max and Dawn laughed at the fight that was ensuing. Tracy looked at the fight with a sweatdrop. He then looked out to the Kitchen.

"Hey, you guys mind if I eat out there with you? It's a little hectic in here", Tracy asked. Ash looked out to him with a goofy grin on his face.

"Sorry Trace, originals only!", Ash yelled back. Tracy stared at him in annoyance, his eyes squinted like Brock's. There was a moment's pause.

"Did I tell you how much I hate you?", Tracy asked. Ash smiled.

"Yep, already got that down!", Ash replied. He then went back to eating. Dawn looked at Ash and the others at the table, and then leaned over towards Tracy.

"What does he mean by originals?", Dawn asked. Tracy leaned towards Dawn to reply.

"Well you see, everyone out there at the table started their journey at basically the same time. Years ago, Ash and Gary started their Pokemon journey on the same day, becoming quick rivals. And as you know, Ash's first Pokemon was Pikachu. Later that same day, Ash met Misty and she followed him. That night, they ran into Team Rocket for the first time, who as I'm sure you're aware of, are pretty persistent. And then two days later, Ash, Misty, and Pikachu met Brock, and the rest is history. So they're originals in the sense that they all started out together before they met all of us. I would be the next original since I was the next person to meet them. But this wasn't until after Ash's attempt at the Indigo League, after Brock had left the group", Tracy explained. Dawn had no idea of all of the history amongst the group of people here. She had known that Ash had alot of friends, but not this many, and not for this long.

"Wow, so they've known each other for years!", Dawn said. Max nodded and leaned over towards Dawn and Tracy.

"Yep, there's alot of history between us all", Max stated. Tracy smiled and pointed to Dawn.

"And you're the newest member of our friend history Dawn!", Tracy said happily. Dawn at first did not know how to take this, but soon smiled. She had never thought of herself in a group of friends. Since the beginning of her journey, she always felt that Ash and Brock would be the most friends she would have on her journey, apart from the Pokemon she caught. She didn't think that there was time for friends on a journey. But now, realizing the history that everyone here had with each other over the years, she smiled at the thought of being apart of it all. She felt like she could fit in. She then continued to eat her dinner, keeping the venison to the side.

After dinner was eaten, it was getting late and everyone prepared for their first night in. As Brock, Pikachu, and Tracy helped clean up after dinner, everyone else got ready for bed. Ash and Misty on the other hand were upstairs on the deck watching the perfect sunset. They were both leaning on the rail, standing only inches apart from each other. For awhile, they were silent, taking in the beauty of the natural setting before them. After awhile Misty spoke up.

"Ash?", Misty asked. Ash looked at her. "Thanks...for inviting me". Ash smiled and looked back at the sunset.

"It was no problem, I wanted all of my closest friends here, and there was no way that I wasn't going to invite you", Ash explained. Misty lowered her head and looked down. Her eyes sparkled with what could of been tears.

"Ash...I can't be...one of your closest friends", Misty said with a hint of sadness. Turned around so that his back was towards the setting sun and looked at Misty puzzled. Her face reminded him of the day she had to leave the group to take charge of the gym, the sadness she expressed pained him.

"What are you talking about? You were my first on the journey apart from Pikachu! In fact, if it wasn't for you rescuing me from the river or letting me use your bike, I probably wouldn't even be here today, let alone be a Pokemon trainer...I have you to thank for that", Ash explained.

"Yeah, but me saving you was an accident...and you stole my bike, I didn't let you ride it. Besides, other than that I haven't done anything", Misty said. Ash turned to face Misty.

"Oh, so you saving my life when we were back on Shamouti Island wasn't anything?", Ash asked with a slight chuckle in it.

"I had to save you, if I didn't then the whole world would have suffered. And even when I did save you...I thought that you...you...", Misty said. She couldn't finish the sentence because she was beginning to choke up. Ash looked at her in pity.

"Mist...", Ash said. He then leaned towards her as she continued to look down towards the ground below them. "I'm here now, and that's all that matters". Ash put both of his hands on her shoulders so that she would face him. They both looked at each other, Misty having to look up now because of the height change. "And you need to have more confidence in both how your friends think of you and yourself", Ash said. Misty looked towards her lower right, her eyes beginning to fill with tears.

"But...", Misty began. She then released herself from Ash's grasp and walked back to look at the sunset. Ash watched her. "...you deserve better". Ash felt even worse for her and was about to talk to her about it when Drew and Dawn appeared. They stood in the bedroom that led to the porch. Drew knocked on the glass door to get their attention. Ash looked at them completely, but Misty only glanced, trying to hide her tears.

"Ash come on, we're setting up the basement and we need you there to decide who's sleeping where", Drew said. Although the sliding door was closed, Ash could still hear him. He looked at Drew and Dawn, and then back to Misty. He placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Misty...I promise...I'm going to make this trip wonderful for you...just you wait", Ash said quietly so that the others wouldn't hear. He then slid open the sliding door, and then he and Drew left to go to the basement. Dawn watched them go down the stairs and was about to follow when she glanced back and saw Misty still leaning against the rail. Rather she knew if Dawn was still there or not was unknown. Dawn watched as Misty looked at the final moments of the sunset. Cascading down her cheeks were tears, which glistened from the remnants of the sun's rays. Dawn knew what the tears were for, but felt it best to let Misty be...for now. She walked downstairs. By this time, Drew and Ash had made it to the basement. All of the guys were preparing for their sleep, or were already prepared. Max remained upstairs by the latch door, trying to keep her sister out.

"No May! It's boys only!", Max yelled as he tried to push her sister away. May looked at him in protest.

"I don't see why I can't go down there to say goodnight!", May yelled. This kind of fighting was typical for them, being siblings.

"Because it's boys only!", Max yelled. He then pushed May just far enough back to give him time to jump downstairs and close the latch door. May ran over and tried to lift it, but to no avail. Max must of latched it shut.

"ERGH! LET ME DOWN THERE!", May yelled. Suddenly, the latch door opened just slightly. A hand came out, placed a sign on the door, and then slid back into the basement. When the door closed again, May read the piece of paper, which simply stated _boys only. _"Argh! That's it! I give up! Have your little basement!", May yelled. She then stepped over the latch door and walked down the hall towards the stairs, most likely to head to the attic with the other girls. In the basement, everyone was getting settled in. Max quickly jumped on the top bunk of the bunk bed, which was right next to the bottom of the stairs. Tracy was on the bottom bunk. James laid on top of the bean bag, and everyone else was on the floor in sleeping bags.

"Man! This is so great! All of us here, it's like a huge sleepover!", Max said excited.

"Relax twerp, don't break a gasket in that little brain of yours", Meowth said as he fluffed a pillow. Max looked down at him angrily.

"Can't you at least call me Max while we're here!", Max yelled. Meowth shrugged.

"Fine...Max", Meowth responded. Ash walked up to the two of them, Tracy, and James.

"Hey, have you guys seen Brock?", Ash asked as he looked over for the missing Pokemon breeder. Suddenly, everyone heard the noise of glass banging together. They all turned to see Brock holding several bottles of alcohol, all a variety of types, brands, and sizes. Everyone in the room sweatdropped at Brock's stupid grin. "Jeez, didn't wait to get into that did you?", Ash asked.

"Heh heh, nope! There's enough for everyone!", Brock said as he handed everyone a drink. Ash, Drew, and Gary just quietly took a beer because they were not much for drinking, where as everyone else received a greater variety of drinks. "And no one is to give any to Max. I may be a fool with booze, but I'm not a moron, and you're too young for any of this", Brock said. He then handed Max a soda. "You can have this until you're older". Max didn't argue but instead sat by Ash and Drew on the floor. "Alright, let's drink until we can't drink anymore!", Brock said. After he said this, James smirked and lowered his head to Meowth's.

"This looks like a good time to try out that bottle we stole before we got here", James said, Meowth snickered.

"Yeah, let's do it!", Meowth said. James then reached into his bag and looked for the bottle, but could not find it.

"WHA! IT'S GONE!", James said shocked. The first thing that came to his mind was that Jessie had taken it, but then he glanced over and saw Brock holding a bottle of what appeared to be a very old and expensive wine. "Hey! The only ones allowed to be thieves here are us!".

"Yeah! We's worked hard to swip dat!", Meowth yelled. Brock smiled goofily.

"You snooze you lose!", Brock said. James and Meowth then jumped into the air.

"WHY YOU!", they both yelled. They lunged ontop of Brock, making a fight cloud. The others looked on with both fear and shock. Gary looked at the drink in his hand, looked at the cloud, and then laughed.

"Well, we came here to party, so let's do it!", Gary yelled. He then jumped into the fight cloud as well. The other guys just watched on. Ash then stood up, which grabbed Drew's attention, and walked over to the mini bar. At the bar were three stools on the opposite side of where the cabinets were. Ash pulled out the middle stool and sat on it, placing his drink on the bar. He then slouched over it and sighed heavily. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his right shoulder. He turned to see Drew take a seat next to him. While Ash watched Drew, Max took the remaining seat on the other side of Ash while Pikachu jumped on-top of the bar. Although Ash did not physically see them, he was aware of their presence.

"What's the matter Ash? Something got you down?", Drew asked placing his drink on the mini bar. Ash looked down gloomily.

"Well...yeah. You see, it's Misty", Ash said. Drew nodded.

"Ah, I see", Drew said understanding the situation. Max realized that this would be a boring discussion and decided to ignore them. As he took a sip of his soft drink, he noticed a glass cup filled with small colored plastic swords. He picked up one of the toothpick sized weapons and pointed it towards Pikachu. Pikachu smiled, grabbed one for himself, and then the two started to do a battle. Ash and Drew ignored them.

"So you see, Misty's been feeling a little hopeless, it's like she doesn't have anymore self confidence in her. I don't know what to do", Ash said. He then lifted his drink and took a sip.

"I see, it's like when May loses a contest here and there, you just have to remind her how important she really is", Drew said taking a drink himself.

"Yeah, that's easier said than done! I can't just talk to her like that, you know I can't!", Ash said. During this talk, Max had stopped sword fighting with Pikachu to turn and look at Ash with a mischievous grin.

"Ah ha! Ash likes Misty!", Max said in a sing song voice. Ash merely gazed at his drink and shrugged.

"Yeah, I do", Ash said.

"You know Max, it's not that big a deal, I mean, I like your sister", Drew said. Max face turned to one of disgust.

"EEEWWW! You like me sister! Gross!", Max said disgusted.

"Oh come on Max, don't say that about your sister", Drew said in an almost scolding way. Ash looked at Max with a slight grin.

"Yeah, listen to your future brother-in-law!", Ash said jokingly. Drew hit him in the arm. Max looked at them in shock.

"Wow, you guys are way to open with your crushes! I bet you guys don't know who", Max said before being interrupted.

"Dawn", both Ash and Drew said, taking a sip of their beers, as if it was old news. Max looked at them both in shock and annoyance.

"Oh whatever!", Max said crossing his arms. Ash then put an arm around Max's neck.

"Listen Max, don't get annoyed about this, it's good that you have someone you like! It makes you happy", Ash said. Max looked up at him, his expression changed.

"You mean it?", Max asked hopeful.

"Yeah. Haven't I been less of a jerk since meeting your sister?", Drew asked rhetorically.

"Yeah, and haven't you noticed me and Misty acting jolly?", Ash asked. Max thought for a moment.

"Jee, I guess you're right! I'll be sure to remember that!", Max said excited. Ash grinned.

"That's the spirit!", Ash said. He then straightened himself up, only to lean over the mini bar, trying to grab something from the other side. "This calls for more drinks!". Unfortunately, he lost his balance and fell over the other side of the bar, knocking over some bottles in the process. Drew quickly ran over to the other side to catch any bottles before they fell to the ground. But he tripped in the hurry and also fell over. Max sweatdropped at the bumbling teenagers. As this occurred, Pikachu walked over to Ash's beer can. Curious, he picked it up and shook it slightly. He heard about a sip's worth of beer in the can and his ears perked up. Pikachu then began to drink the remnants of the can. Suddenly, he pulled the can away from him and stuck his tongue out in disgust. He threw the beer can to the ground. Max chuckled.

"Didn't like it did you?", Max asked.

"Pika!", Pikachu said in disgust. The two of them then turned around to see that the fight cloud had ended. All of the boys over there were drunk, (Meowth, Brock, and Gary more so, or at least acting like it more), and babbling like idiots. Both Max and Pikachu looked at each other and then bursted into laughter. Meanwhile, up in the attic of the lake house, the girls were doing anything but sleeping. Misty, May, and Dawn all had on their pajamas, (Misty wore short shorts and a spaghetti strap shirt, May wore short shorts and a t-shirt, and Dawn wore her nightgown), and were sitting on their sleeping bags on the floor. Jessie laid on the couch not to far from them. All of the girls on the floor had a drink in their hand, (non-alcoholic) and were laughing.

"And then, Harley starts yelling at me and Drew and begins to walk away! But then, he slips and falls down the hill!", May said laughing. Misty and Dawn bursted into fits of giggles, tears coming down their eyes.

"Heh heh, I wish I had rivals like that, mine are too nice to me", Dawn said removing a tear from her eye.

"That reminds me of this one trainer who challenged me for a badge. He was all cocky after winning his first badge and said how he was gonna cream me, I beat him with one Pokemon! He was so mad that he tried to blame me for cheating. So my sisters got mad and threw him into the pool! We all nearly died laughing as he pulled himself out and walked away!", Misty explained. All of the girls started laughing again.

"Will you girls cool it! All I hear out of you is giggling!", Jessie said irritated. The girls looked to see her still lying on the couch, in her hands some decaffeinated canned coffee. She looked at them with annoyance in her eyes.

"Ah come on Jessie, remember what me and Max told you earlier? You need to have fun!", Dawn said. May smiled and leaned over towards Misty. As she did, she whispered something into her ear. Misty nodded for a moment and then soon she gasped and the two of them giggled. Dawn looked at them confused. "What? What is it?". Both May and Misty looked at each other, smiled, and then looked back at her.

"Oh nothing, we're just saying how you and Max LIKE EACH OTHER!", May yelled. Dawn began to blush immensely.

"We don't like each other!", Dawn yelled.

"Then why is he always being so nice to you!", Misty asked with a grin.

"It's called being a gentleman! Besides, I think it's sweet of him, so there!", Dawn said sticking her tongue out at them. She then looked at May. "Besides, what about you and Drew!".

"What about us?", May asked.

"You two are even more romanticized than I am!", Dawn said. Although Dawn was expecting a rude comment back, May merely smiled and laid back on her sleeping bag, her hands supporting the back of her head. She sighed.

"Yeah, I guess we are", May said dreamily. Misty and Dawn looked at her curiously. May then sat back up and looked at the girls. "You know, ever since I left Ash and Brock and traveled on my own in Johto, me and Drew have gotten alot closer...I mean, we're still rivals, and at times we still argue, but...it's different now". Her expression was both serious yet sincere. Misty and Dawn continued to listen to her. May looked away for a moment, thinking. Soon, she smiled and looked back to them. "I think I'm in love with him", she said sincerely. Both Misty and Dawn gasped in excitement. They both hugged May in joy.

"Oh May! That's great!", Dawn said.

"Yeah May, good for you!", Misty responded. They both released her.

"Well thanks girls, I appreciate it. But you have to keep it a secret!", May said worried, putting her hands together like a prayer.

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me", Misty said winking. Dawn nodded.

"Yep, this doesn't leave the attic", Dawn said. May smiled and hugged them.

"Aw, thanks girls!", May said thrilled. All three girls then looked at Jessie. For a moment, she didn't notice. Then she glanced over wondering why it was silent and noticed the girls looking at her. She thought for a moment and then sighed.

"Whatever", Jessie said. May smiled.

"Thanks Jessie", May said. Jessie shrugged and took a sip of her coffee. Dawn then looked at Misty. While she did this, many different thoughts ran through her head. All of those thoughts were memories of that day involving Misty and Ash. Starting from the lone tear going down her cheek at Ash's house. All of these moments swirled around her head and she began to wonder. Was there more to these moments than she thought, Dawn had to find out.

"Hey Misty?", Dawn asked. Misty looked at her.

"Yes Dawn?", Misty asked. There was a moment's pause before Dawn replied.

"Do you like Ash?", Dawn asked seriously. Suddenly, everyone became silent. Even Jessie's attention was grabbed by this remark as she sat up from the couch, refraining from taking any more sips from her can. Misty looked both scared and shocked.

"Well, uh...", Misty stated. She was nervous to answer such a question. She tried to look away, thinking of how to change the subject. Dawn could tell that it was a touchy subject for her and now felt bad for asking the question. She had never wanted to make her feel bad, she just wanted to know.

"Misty, you don't have to answer if you don't want to, sorry I asked", Dawn said. She then looked down to the ground. Misty glanced to her and noticed this. She could now tell that Dawn didn't ask this question out of spite or hatred, but out of curiosity and possibly even hope. Misty too looked at the wooden floor beneath her.

"...yes Dawn...I do", Misty said nervously. Dawn looked up and made eye contact with her. They gazed at each other for a moment, and then Dawn smiled, now knowing the truth.

"Well that's great Misty!", May said cheerfully.

"Is it?", Misty asked. Everyone looked at her confused now. She looked back to the floor. "Ash doesn't deserve me...he deserves better. Someone who's smarter, prettier, just plain better than me". May and Dawn looked at her in pity.

"Ah Misty, don't say that!", Dawn said. Misty kept her gaze to the ground, as if expecting it to move.

"Why not?" It's true isn't it?", Misty said.

"No Misty! That's not true!", May said trying to comfort her.

"I see what the problem is", Jessie said after not talking for awhile. May and Dawn looked at her, almost forgetting that she was even there. "She has no self confidence, she believes that everyone, Ash in particular, is better than her". Dawn looked back at Misty.

"Oh is that it? Come on Misty, you have to give yourself credit! I mean look at you! You're pretty, smart, and one of the best trainers I've ever seen!", Dawn said. Misty looked up at her.

"But you're my friend, friends always say stuff like that", Misty explained.

"Misty...you're not alone", May said. Misty, Dawn, and Jessie looked at her, seeing that her head was now down towards the ground like Misty's was previously. "Do you think you're the only one...that feeling of hopelessness, of being overshadowed. I mean, look at me...I've been in Drew's shadow for ages. Although we're friends and he doesn't mean to, he causes that feeling for me too. Compared to him in contests, and even elsewhere...I'm a nobody", May explained.

"...May...", Dawn said sympathetically. May continued on.

"But...I don't let that stop me...I push on, making myself believe that I'm better in all aspects of life...and you should too", May said as she looked back up at Misty. Misty gazed at her, shocked.

"I'll...try...but I don't know", Misty said. She then looked back onto the floor, gazing. After another hour or two everyone was asleep, (or in the boy's case, passed out). As the house became silent with but a few snores, the outside life began to stir. Night Pokemon began to run about, playing and gathering food in the light of the full moon. The stars twinkled in the night sky, like Volbeat and Illumise dancing in the dark. Their omniscient glow was reflected off of the water, causing nearly an exact replicate of the sky. Suddenly, a lone Dragonair crossed through the water. It's lower half beneath the small waves it was making; it moved elegantly across the open water. The "second sky" began to swirl and ripple as the snake like body moved across it, disappearing until the calamity returned.

**See, like I said, a quick update! Now as you can see, I did add some more drama than usual. Normally I just have action or comedy to coincide with the romance, but this time I wanted to have a level balance with all of the genres I added into this story. And if you also noticed, the characters are sort of showing their more emotional side, as would a typical teenager if given the chance. Now then, tell me what you think, loved it, hated it, could care less of my opinion? "As their first day draws to a close, tension grows. Is this the end of all of the problems, or are they just creeping around the corner! Will they all manage to go through their vacation! Find out next time on EVAN AAML'S "The Lake House!""...god, nothing says good "authoring" like a nice narration! Anyway, still waiting for those reviews/favorites/alerts! So far, my Alphabet game has more hits than this one! Which reminds me, should probably work on that next chapter...anyway, see you all later!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello everyone! And a Happy Columbus/National Coming Out Day! I realize that suddenly I am updating alot, I mean, practically 3 chapters within a weekend! Well the reason is, I want to be able to get more stories out, but I don't want to do it with 2 stories still in progress. So I figured, since this one was written a year ago, I can finish this one quicker. That and, well, let's face it, I am really loving how this story is coming along, and the anticipation to write the next chapter is just too much! I already have several ideas for more stories, which shouldn't come to much of a surprise to you all. I currently have sequel ideas for "Power From Within", "Christmas", and "Payback/Payback Returns" with a possible one for "Eternal Darkness" as well. And that's not including the original ideas that I have going, which I'll save for you at the end of this chapter. Now then, let me get started with this chapter, which if I remember, will have a little more comedy in it than the others, OH JOY!**

**-EVAN AAML**

As the hours passed, the night life began to draw to a close until the stars and moon hid on the other side of the Pokemon world. The sun had begun to rise, signifying the start of a new day. While the outside life began to wake up and become active, the life hidden in the camp was still dormant. Although the house was lit by the sun, everyone remained asleep. All was peaceful until slowly but surely, the latch door to the basement was lifted up by a head, revealing Brock's tired expression. His messy hair was crushed by the door until he brought his hand up to support it long enough for his body to escape the basement. He quietly and slowly closed the door and then walked into the Kitchen. As soon as he walked in, he headed straight for a small, white object with a round glass inside. He pressed a couple of buttons and the machine sprung to life. It poured out a black hot liquid into the glass. Brock then looked at the oven to his left and noticed the time in bright green numbers; six thirty. Although Brock was always a morning person, last night's antics made him more drowsy than normal. All things considered however, he was still changed into his day attire and, within the next hour, would be making breakfast. Brock began to open a couple of cabinets and cupboards in search of something.

"Let's see, coffee mugs...coffee mugs...where are the coffee mugs?", Brock asked himself as he searched the Kitchen. Eventually, he found what he was looking for in the cupboard closest to the Kitchen window. He pulled out a couple, knowing others will want coffee too, and then closed the cupboard door. After he did, he glanced outside to see the activity. Darting across the crushed stone driveway on the dead end road were a couple of Rattata, most likely playing. On top of the van sat a Pidgey, cleaning its wings in preparation for the day. Over in a tree not far from either the road or the window was a Hoppip, not quite ready to begin moving yet. Above its head were a couple of Pineco, bouncing merrily. Brock smiled at the sight of these Pokemon, something he saw often but rarely got to appreciate due to their usually tight schedules. The coffee maker then made a faint, but detectable noise. Brock turned to the machine to see the round glass filled with the black hot liquid. As he grabbed the handle of the glass and pulled it out of the clutches of the coffee maker, he heard heavy footsteps approaching the Kitchen. Within a few moments, Jessie appeared, slumping over and dragging herself towards that wonderful smell. Brock chuckled. "I take it you would like some?", he said as he poured some into one of the mugs.

"Mmph, yeah", Jessie muttered. Brock carefully handed her the mug and she accepted it. As she took her first sip, Brock poured himself some. "Thanks", Jessie replied, slightly less groggy than before.

"No problem...I take it you're not really a morning person?", Brock asked with a smile, taking a sip of his coffee and leaning against the counter.

"No, I hate getting up this early, but someone in our group has to wake up, get everything ready, and prepare. We're on the same schedule as you", Jessie explained.

"Oh I hear ya. Normally I'd wake up earlier than this...actually, I'm surprised more people aren't up. I know Tracy's a morning person, and Gary and Drew seem like that type too. But then again, after last night, I wouldn't be surprised if they slept in till noon!", Brock said with a chuckle.

"Hmm?", Jessie said, wondering what he meant by last night.

"Nothing", Brock quickly answered. As he took another sip of coffee, the noise of the latch door opening filled the hallway and Kitchen area. "Well there you go, someone's up". To his surprise however, it was Ash who walked down the hall and towards them. "Ash? I thought you'd be asleep".

"I would be, but I'm not going to waste this vacation sleeping. Can you pour me some?", Ash asked rubbing the remnants of sleep out of his eyes. Brock lightly chuckled as he grabbed a mug and began pouring coffee into it.

"Well Ash, I'm proud of you, you're showing to be a mature adult", Brock said as he handed Ash his mug.

"Thanks", Ash said as he accepted it. He took a deep whiff of the smell and smiled.

"Weird, I didn't think you liked coffee", Brock said as he leaned against the counter again and took a sip.

"I'm not a big drinker of it, usually the smell alone keeps me up, but because of last night, I think I should actually drink this", Ash said.

"Hmm?", Jessie said, once again referring to last night.

"Nothing", Ash quickly answered. He took a sip and leaned against the large refrigerator behind him. He then looked at Jessie, who was still standing outside the Kitchen entrance. "What are you doing up already anyway Jessie?".

"I already went through this, you should have gotten up two minutes earlier", Jessie said. Ash sweatdropped and turned back to Brock.

"So Brock, what's on the agenda?", Ash asked. Brock thought for a moment.

"Well, whatever you want. May told me there's a volleyball net in that shed, so I'll set that up in the lake and we can play that. And I suppose we can have a bonfire later", Brock suggested. He took a sip of coffee.

"Sounds good! Now what about breakfast?", Ash asked cheerfully.

"Well, it's six thirty three, so I'll start making it around seven thirty, and we'll eat by eight. By then, everyone should be up, or at least easier to awaken", Brock explained.

"Alright then!", Ash said. He was hungry, but he wasn't going to complain. He leaned off the fridge and walked out of the Kitchen. As Brock and Jessie started up a conversation, Ash headed towards the large room with the windows. As he approached the windows, he gazed at the sight before him. The sun sparkled in the sky and showed the lake to be as clean and beautiful as ever. There were no clouds in the sky so the sun seemed brighter than usual in this early morning. Ash gazed at the outside in deep thought. His mind wandered off from the outside to that of a red headed girl. Just then, the sound of heavy footsteps filled the room. Ash turned around to see May walking down the stairs in her pajamas. She was slumping and dragging her feet down the remaining flight of stairs. She was carrying her pillow and resting her head on it, hoping that she will be able to fall asleep again. Ash chuckled. "Hey May! You're awake! You want some coffee to brighten your day?", Ash joked as as he sipped his coffee. May reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Lemme lone!", May yelled mumbling her words and throwing her pillow at him. Of course, the pillow hit the ground half way towards Ash and slid on the wooden floor to his feet. Ash chuckled more as May headed towards the Kitchen.

"Hey Brock, better make more of that coffee! You've got company!", Ash yelled just loud enough for Brock to hear, but not to wake everyone up.

"There's enough, hello May! Good morning to you!", Brock said from the Kitchen. All Ash could hear was mumbling from then on by May. Ash then returned to gazing outside and thinking. Within the next hour, people were beginning to stir and get up. Pikachu and most of the boys got up relatively early and helped Brock with breakfast. By the time half of the meal was done, Dawn and the remainder of the boys woke up. However, Ash noticed that Misty was still asleep. As he headed towards the stairs to go get her, Drew stopped him.

"Wait let me come, I want to see her rip your head off when you wake her up", Drew said. Ash looked back to him.

"Won't happen, she's a morning person", Ash stated. Drew lifted his mug of coffee.

"Well it will still be fun to watch anyway", Drew remarked as he took a sip of coffee. The two of them walked upstairs and into the entertainment room. They then slowly and quietly walked up the spiral staircase and into the attic. The room was a bit of a mess, with blankets and sleeping bags sprawled out over the couch and floor. The sunlight from the window lit the room perfectly for the two boys and they were able to spot Misty in the mess. Half of her sleeping body was sticking out of her sleeping bag, revealing a pretty red head tilted to her left side. Ash slowly tip-toed his way to Misty and got on his knees. He gently shook her.

"Mist?...Misty wake up", Ash whispered. Misty turned her body to face Ash, but remained asleep. "Come on sleeping beauty, get up". Suddenly, Misty grabbed onto Ash's neck in a hug. Ash gasped from shock. Misty was still asleep however, so Ash relaxed. He then turned to Drew, who stood a few feet away drinking his coffee. "Could you help me out here!", Ash asked in a slight panic.

"No", Drew immediately responded. He then slurped his coffee.

"Oh jee, thanks!", Ash said sarcastically.

"No problem", Drew responded. Ash then brought his attention back towards the still sleeping Misty.

"Hey Mist, wake up", Ash asked gently. Just then, Misty smiled, leaned forward, and kissed Ash on the lips. Ash's eyes grew in proportion and he blushed immensely. Even Drew was slightly taken aback, but unlike Ash, he kept cool about it. Ash then looked at Misty and realized that she was still asleep. Praying thanks, Ash decided that since she was still hugging him and wouldn't wake up, he'd carry her. So he put one arm under her arms and part of her back, and the other under her legs. He then lifted her up bridal style. Ash then walked over to Drew, who just slurped away. Ash eyed him angrily. "You tell anyone I kill you!", Ash warned.

"Relax, I won't tell", Drew said. Suddenly, Misty began to stir in Ash's arms. Both Ash and Drew looked to see Misty's eyes partially flutter open. She looked around, wondering how she got in her position.

"Huh...Drew?", Misty said noticing him.

"Good morning", Drew replied. Misty then looked up and saw Ash.

"Ash? What are you doing?", Misty asked tired and confused. Ash smiled.

"Well I was going to kidnap you in your sleep, but now you're awake, so I'll have to knock you out or something", Ash joked. Although Misty was still tired, she managed to slap Ash in the chest. Ash then gently put her on her feet and she stretched.

"So what's going on?", Misty asked yawning.

"Breakfast, come on, let's go!", Ash said excited. He then gently shoved Misty and Drew down the staircase and out of the attic to eat. Immediately after breakfast, (which went by quickly since Brock and Tracy only had coffee, May only a bowl of cereal, and Ash everything else in sight), everyone got changed and prepared for the day. By the time everyone was in their clothes and outside, it was around nine thirty. Brock went into the shed and got out the volleyball net. And with the help of Tracy and James, he set it up in the shallow end of the water, to the left of the dock. After it was set up, everyone got into their bathing suits, (which were already on, underneath their normal attire), and picked teams for the game. With there being an uneven number of players, James volunteered to be referee, stating that he was never a fan of playing the game anyway. He stood in-between the sides of the net so that he could see both sides with ease. Brock and Ash were dubbed team captains and they picked players, Brock picking first and Ash getting ball. After the people were chosen, Brock's team consisted of Tracy, May, Drew, Meowth, Gary, and himself. Ash's team was Misty, Pikachu, Max, Dawn, Jessie, and himself. Brock's team chose the side closest to the dock to start off.

"Alright, you all ready?", James asked. They all nodded. "Ok then, go ahead!". Ash threw the ball into the air above him and then hit it as it came back down. The ball flew over the net and towards Gary. He jumped up and hit the ball back, sending it towards the right side of him. Misty was closest, and so she jumped up and spiked the ball down. However, Tracy was below the ball and managed to get it to fly behind him to Brock. Brock quickly hit the ball and sent it to Ash's side. But suddenly, Dawn jumped up and spiked the ball, sending it down into the water on Brock's side. James raised his left hand into the air. "Score for Dawn, Ash's team get a point. Score is one to nothing". Dawn jumped up in excitement.

"Yey! I got the first point!", Dawn yelled happily. Max, who was behind her, walked up to Dawn smiling.

"Good job Dawn!", Max said cheerfully. Suddenly, Dawn grabbed Max and hugged him, still jumping for joy. Max's head was pressed up against Dawn's upper chest and he blushed incredibly. Watching this, May looked to her right at Drew with a smirk.

"See, told you", May said matter of factly.

"Yeah yeah", Drew responded. When Max was released, Brock picked up the ball.

"Yeah cheer now, it won't last for long", Brock said competitively. He then tossed the ball in the air. As it reached it's zenith, it fell and Brock swung at it. He hit the ball and it flew over the net. The ball was still close to the net, so Misty was able to reach it without much trouble. She jumped in the air and was about to spike it down when she noticed Tracy. She didn't want him to block the spike again, so came up with an idea. As the ball made contact with her hand, she slightly twisted it, thereby changing the ball's direction. It went crashing down hard towards Tracy's right. He dove to reach it, but was not fact enough, and it splashed in the water. James once again raised his left hand.

"Score for Misty, Ash's team gets the point. Score is two to nothing", James said. Misty was excited about the score, but didn't dance for joy like Dawn had previously. She did however lookback at Ash, who smiled and gave her a thumbs up. Misty smiled. Ash then looked at Misty's whole body, which was bare with the exception of the cerulean blue bikini she was wearing. He made a cheeky grin at Misty. Misty noticed what he was looking at and shook her head with a smile. But what Ash didn't notice was the blush across her face. The ball went back to Brock and he looked at Ash's side in deep thought. The score was two to nothing and it could easily grow worse. He had to think of something to change that. He threw the ball up in the air and hit it, this time a little harder. It sailed to the left of Ash's side. Max was scared that the ball was heading towards him, but he hit it anyways. Unfortunately, it wasn't a strong enough hit to go across the net. But Dawn quickly responded by bouncing the ball in the air towards her right, which was Pikachu's location. He jumped in the air, did a flip, and hit the ball with his tail. The ball flew over the net and towards May. She smacked the ball, sending it far to the right over the net. The ball headed towards Jessie and she saw it. But instead of preparing an open hand, she prepared a fist. Then as the ball approached her, she punched it. The ball immediately flew back, but not in the direction Jessie was hoping for. Everyone watched as the ball flew quickly at a sharp angle, hitting James dead in the face. He flew backwards and into the water; both him and the ball making a splash. Everyone on Ash's team looked at Jessie, either confused or annoyed. Jessie looked at them and shrugged.

"What! I stink at volleyball!", Jessie said. James then slowly and shakily raised his right hand.

"Brock's team scores", James uttered before dropping again into the water, completely dazed. After a few minutes to let James get his senses back, Ash was handed the ball.

"Ergh, shoot! Brock's team is on the board. So much for a perfect victory", Ash said. "Alright, change position". Everyone on Ash's side moved to their next spot in the rotation. Ash then lowered himself to give Pikachu the ball. "Alright buddy, it's up to you!", Ash said handing him the ball.

"Pikachu!", Pikachu said positively. Ash then stood up and prepared to move. Before he did however, he glanced down at Pikachu.

"You need my help serving?", Ash asked, not taking into account Pikachu's small stature.

"Pika", Pikachu said. Ash knew that this meant no.

"Ok then, good luck", Ash responded. He then got into position. Pikachu held the ball up as high as he could, which was just slightly higher than himself. On the other side of the court, Gary and Meowth were snickering to each other, laughing at the idea of Pikachu serving. Suddenly, Gary heard a splash from where he was standing. He and Meowth turned to see the volleyball, floating in the water in front of Gary. They looked across the net to see Pikachu, who made a "V for Victory" sign. James raised his left hand.

"Score for Pikachu, Ash's team gets a point. Score is three to one", James commented. As Pikachu was handed the ball, Gary and Meowth were left to babble like idiots, not sure as to how that could of possibly have happened. Pikachu hit the ball again, clearing it over the net. Gary, still shocked at the last play, dove for the ball, but missed. He and the ball splashed in the water. James raised his left hand. "Score for Pikachu, Ash's team gets the point. Score is four to one". As Gary pulled himself out of the water, Meowth laughed.

"Wow, how typical for a twerp!", Meowth said. All of a sudden, the volleyball hit Meowth on the head and bounced in the water. Meowth seemed stunned at the sudden hit and looked at the ball in shock. James repeated his action as before, Pikachu scored three points in a row. Ash ran over and picked up his Pokemon.

"Yeah! Three aces in a row, way to go Pikachu!", Ash cheered. Pikachu smiled and cheered with him. Gary looked at the still stunned cat Pokemon with a smirk.

"Can't say much now can you?", Gary asked.

"Come on guys, it's five to one! Do something other than letting the ball hit the water!", Brock said annoyed. He was all for team spirit and fair play, but he had his gym leader pride to contend with as well. Gary stood tall and eyed Pikachu carefully, he also had pride on the line.

"Don't worry, I don't plan on letting another one past me that easily", Gary said competitively. Pikachu then served again, getting the ball just over the net. But this time, Gary jumped in the air and spiked the ball as hard as he could. Unfortunately, due to the sudden strike, he didn't have time to coordinate his hit. The spike didn't go immediately down like he had hoped, but instead flew over Dawn's head and slammed into Pikachu, causing him and the ball to go under water. Before anyone could see if Pikachu was ok, he jumped out of the water just slightly and his cheeks began to spark.

"PIIIIIIIKAAAAAACHUUUUUUUU!", Pikachu yelled. Just as he landed back in the water, Pikachu released his Thundershock attack. Everyone in the entire area was shocked by the attack. When he finished, Pikachu looked around to see everyone on both sides of the net, (James included), on the ground. Their hair standing on end and their bodies brown from the heat. In front of Pikachu floated the volleyball, perfectly unharmed. Dawn raised her head up just slightly to see it.

"Thank goodness for rubber balls", Dawn said. She then sunk her head under water. James puffed out a cloud of smoke from his mouth.

"How come whenever that team scores I get hurt?", James asked. Pikachu put a paw behind his head and blushed.

"Pikachu", Pikachu said embarrassed. When everyone regained their composure, the ball was handed to Tracy and Brock's team rotated. Both May and Drew were at the left end now, preparing to hit the ball when it came to them. However, due to the close proximity of the two, when May bent down, her rear end was only inches from Drew's face. Drew blushed immensely and slightly backed away.

"Uh, May?", Drew asked. May, without turning around, replied.

"Yes Drew?", May said.

"Would you mind getting your butt out of my face!", Drew asked. May quickly stood up, turned around, and put her hand over her mouth.

"Oh, I'm sorry!", May said blushing. Drew smiled.

"Don't worry about it, there will be plenty of time for that later", Drew said playfully. May slapped him as a joke and prepared to strike the ball when it came to her. After playing for about half an hour, the score was tied nine to nine. They had all decided that this would be the game winning point, and so they were all ready for it. The ball was served and the game was on. Neither side gave in and even the most difficult of strikes were blocked. Dawn had hit the ball over the net, but it was hit back by Gary. Then Pikachu countered, but May repeated. Then as May hit the ball over the net, it flew towards Misty. She knew that either team could win it at this point, so she had to act fast. Misty jumped in the air as high as she could and raised her right hand. And then as the ball came her way, she spiked it down with a fierce strike. The ball went down at such speed that it was hard to keep track of. Meowth was directly underneath the ball, trying to send it back. But the ball went by so fast that not only could he not hit it, the ball flew into his mouth and slammed him into the water. A large splash was made and no one could see what happened. When the waves died down, Meowth's body floated to the surface. His eyes were covered in swirls and the ball was stuck in his mouth. James raised his left hand.

"Score for Misty, Ash's team wins!", James declared. Ash's team then jumped for joy. Ash ran to Misty and grabbed her. He then started swinging her around in excitement.

"You did it Misty! You did it!", Ash yelled happily. Then Ash swung Misty in front of him, but didn't let her go. There they stood, gazing into each others eyes. Ash seemed mesmerized by Misty's cerulean eyes. They both smiled, but then quickly pulled away and blushed. Dawn and May both noticed this and smiled. They knew it would take some work, but they'd be able to pull it off. After the game, everyone went off to do what they wanted. Brock, Gary, Max, and Tracy all went to hike around the area to see what they could find/learn. Meowth was still unconscious, so he was laid down in the living room. Dawn and Pikachu were upstairs in the entertainment room playing pool, (there was a child's cue stick for Pikachu to use). James was raiding the refrigerator, laughing as he did so; Ash and Misty were sitting on the dock fishing and Jessie was on a lounge chair by them fanning herself. During this, May and Drew were on the row boat in the lake. Drew had invited May to come, to which she quickly agreed to. However, Drew was doing all of the rowing while May watched. Drew huffed in exasperation.

"So May, are you ready to row now?", Drew asked. There was no response. "May?". Drew turned around to see May after not hearing a response. She was wearing a white, fluffy dress with a big white hat and a small white parasol. She was smiling and gazing all around her.

"Oh Drew dear keep rowin, I want to see the whole lake!", May said in a southern accent. Drew's eyes grew in shock.

"Where did you get that outfit from!", Drew asked in disbelief.

"Hammerspace deary", May answered still in her accent. Drew sweatdropped.

"Of course you did, now are you gonna row or not!", Drew asked. May giggled and waved her hand.

"Why no deary, I can't row! I'd get all sweaty and hot!", May said. Drew got annoyed.

"Oh is that it! Well I have the perfect cure for that!", Drew said. This peaked May's curiosity.

"What is it?", May asked. Drew then stood up, careful not to tip the row boat, and walked over to May. Before she realized what he was planning, Drew lifted her up bridal style and brought her over the lake. "Drew don't you dare!", she yelled no longer using the southern bell accent.

"What happened to your accent, I liked it", Drew said sarcastically.

"Drew if you drop me I swear I'll", May said before being cut off.

"You'll what...deary?", Drew asked. He then dropped her into the water. She went under for a second and quickly popped back up.

"Drew! Get me out of here right now!", May yelled splashing in the water like a Magikarp. Drew laughed for a moment until he decided that enough was enough.

"Oh alright", Drew said. He then lowered himself and extended his hand. May grabbed it, but then grew a mischievous grin. Just as Drew began to lift her out of the water, May pulled on his hand as hard as she could. However, something stopped her from dragging Drew in. She looked up and noticed that Drew's foot was against the side of the row boat, preventing him from losing his balance and falling in the water. May pulled and pulled, but nothing happened. Drew looked at her with that cocky smirk. "Did you honestly believe that I didn't see that one coming?", Drew asked. May pouted as Drew pulled her out of the water and into the row boat. She then looked at her southern style dress, which was completely soaked and no longer poofy.

"Oh, now look at it, it's completely ruined!", May said annoyed. She then put her hat and umbrella down and started to remove the dress. "You're lucky I have my bathing suit under here!". After removing the dress entirely, she sat in the row boat in nothing but her bikini. She crossed her arms and pouted. "I hope you're happy now Drew, you jerk!". Drew looked at her and merely grinned. "What? What is it?", May asked. Drew then got closer and closer to May until they were only inches apart.

"I've been wanting to do this...for quite awhile", Drew answered. He then removed any distance between him and May and kissed her on the lips. May sat there shocked at the sudden action as Drew pulled away and grinned. "How was that?". May was still shocked, but quickly shook it away.

"Nope, sorry. You'll have to do better than that", May said. Drew smirked.

"Heh, I doubt that...but ok then", Drew replied. He then got closer to May and put his hand on her cheek. The warm touch made them both blush, May more so. Drew's smirk turned more to a innocent smile, which made May's eyes sparkle in amazement. "I will", Drew continued. He then placed another kiss on her, but it was more passionate and slower than the last one. As they kissed, May sighed and pulled Drew closer, causing them to lay down; May on the bottom of Drew. They continued to kiss, not letting go of each other's embrace. Drew then lifted his head and looked at May, who looked lovingly back to him. Drew smiled. "Well this trip has certainly become one to remember!", Drew said. May giggled. Drew then laid back down on top of May. Fits of giggles could be heard and that was all.

**Ah, young love! What a sweet thing! *sniff*. Well, hope you all liked it, I certainly did! Anyway, about those story ideas I had. I told you about the sequel ideas I had at the beginning of this chapter, and said that I would tell you my original ones later on. Well, I have a few ideas, which ones I'll actually go through I'm not sure yet. One idea is a pirate story, one that my fellow author/friend prettygirl17 has offered to help me with for sources and terms. This one I have been thinking about for about two years or so now, and is still in the thinking stage. Another one I thought of is a war related story, with soldiers. Not exactly a world war, but it's a work in progress for plot. A few one shot ideas are also in mind, but those are to be expected, I do those quite a bit. I also briefly thought of a horror story, not related with "Eternal Darkness". I never thought that I would be good at writing them, but after the success of my last big story, I thought I might be able to do another. For this one, I was thinking more werewolf, but ideas are still swirling, (also note, I am NOT a fan of Twilight, so don't think of THAT kind of story, no offense to you fans out there). My last idea, one that was rather recent for me, and might be my biggest story yet, is a Team Rocket type story. I'm sure most of you have read at least one story like this, where Team Rocket actually takes over the world, and there's a rebel alliance, and etc. God knows what I'll do for that one, but I'll think on it when I have the time. Well that's about it. Expect another update...whenever. "After a long day of playing and romance, it seems that everything is going smoothly for the group. But how long will it last? And will something occur that ruins everything? Find out next time on EVAN AAML'S "The Lake House"!". Goodnight everybody!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	6. Chapter 6

**Well I'm back again, but is anyone really shocked at this point, really? Not much to report here today, but I did find out this article on that live action Pokemon movie that I mentioned earlier before. Turns out that this is going to be a real movie, but it will be small time, in other words, not in theaters. Not only that, but after watching the full trailer, (which I found), I come to realize that they did a real bad job at making the Pokemon. Pikachu looks like a yellow Chihuahua at best, Ivysaur looks like...well, I can't describe him, and Meowth! Jeez, he may look the best, but that's a stretch! And the funny thing about ALL of this...the story itself was a fan-fic. Yeah, that means that everyone on here could of made a better plot than this one. Now I'm not saying it's a horrible plot, but it could be alot better. Actors were a poor choice too, Ash is played by the Producer and Brock is played by the Director, pretty sad in my eyes. Anyway, sorry for the little rant there, let's get back to "The Lake House" shall we?**

**-EVAN AAML**

As May and Drew were on their little boat excursion, Ash and Misty were still fishing on the dock. Although they were having horrible luck with it, they still enjoyed themselves and talked about what had happened since they last met.

"And then, Dawn explodes into an angry rage and tries to kill Paul, good thing Brock and Pikachu were there to hold her down!", Ash told Misty. They were both in a fit of giggles.

"Wow Ash, it looks like you and the others sure have a great time together!", Misty said. Ash lied down on the dock, putting his hands behind his head.

"Yeah, we have a blast!", Ash said. Misty's smile slightly faded and she looked back at the lake.

"I just wish I could of been there with you for those moments..." Misty stated. Ash sat up and looked at her. Just then, they both heard a scoff of annoyance.

"Oh please, if you wanted yo go with them you could have!", someone said. Ash and Misty turned to see Jessie, still lying on the lounge chair tanning. They had almost forgotten she was there because she was so quiet. Jessie looked at them both, lifting her sunglasses up.

"What do you mean?", Misty asked.

"I mean, you could have gone, you decided not to, so it's your loss", Jessie said. Misty started to grow agitated.

"I'll have you know that I had a responsibility to watch over the Cerulean Gym, I couldn't go!", Misty stated. Jessie slightly chuckled to herself.

"And your sister's can't do it now?", Jessie asked with a bit of a cocky attitude.

"They can't handle it by themselves, I'm the only one who actually can battle!", Misty said. Jessie scoffed again and laid back down, putting her sunglasses back over her eyes.

"Jeez, when will you kids ever end the drama? If you want something, then go for it, don't let anything stop you. You all need to relax and solve your problems!", Jessie said. Misty was flushed with anger and was about to stand up, but Ash beat her to it. He looked down at Jessie with a stern look in his eyes.

"That's easier said than done!", Ash said. It was in a normal tone, but an assertive one. Both of the girls looked at him, somewhat shocked. "We all have problems that we have to fix, and fixing them isn't always easy. Misty can;t just leave the gym to her sisters. She refuses to let the reputation of the gym go down, her battling spirit won't let her. And that's what makes her her...we're nothing if not ourselves". The last part of the speech was said looking at Misty. She could only look on in amazement. Jessie herself even sat back up and removed her sunglasses to get a better look at him. None of the two figured he was capable of saying words like that. Jessie however shook her head in annoyance.

"Alright, you're proven that she has a good excuse, but that still doesn't solve your problem. How is it she'll do it?", Jessie asked.

"That's for her to decide. Misty has to do that herself...but if she needs help...", Ash said. He then looked back down at Misty and smiled. "Then I'll be right there for her". Misty smiled back, secretly fighting away tears. Jessie eyes them carefully and then laid back down while putting her sunglasses back on. Ash sat beside Misty and they continued to fish. As Ash lifted his fishing rod, Misty smiled and looked at him.

"Hey Ash...", Misty said. Ash looked at her.

"Yes?", Ash replied.

"Thanks", Misty said with a slight blush. Ash smiled in return.

"No problem", Ash said.

"Hey you guys!", someone yelled. Ash, Misty, and Jessie looked to see May and Drew returning to the dock, May standing in the rowboat and waving as Drew rowed. Both of them had smiles on their faces. Ash and Misty smiled as well and waved them in. It only took a few moments for Drew to row both him and May in and soon, the two of them were on the dock. May seemed overjoyed by something and nearly exploded in anticipation as she ran to Misty. "Oh my god, Misty, you're never gonna believe this! Drew asked me out on the rowboat...and I said yes!", she yelled in excitement. Misty quickly became just as excited.

"Did you really!", Misty asked.

"Yeah!", May yelled in happiness. Both her and Misty then grabbed onto each other in excitement and started to jump up and down. Meanwhile, Ash looked at Drew, who was on his knees tying the boat to the side of the dock.

"Did you really?", Ash asked. Drew smirked.

"Yep", Drew responded. Ash held out his hand to him, which Drew took as they shook hands.

"Congrats!", Ash said pleased for his friend.

"Thank you", Drew said back. Suddenly, Jessie stood up and began walking away.

"Hmph, too much excitement over here", Jessie said annoyed. Misty and May stopped jumping and looked at her.

"Come on Jessie, remember, have fun!", May said. Jessie hmphed again and continued to walk away. Everyone on the dock watched her for a little bit before Misty turned to May.

"Let's find the others and tell them the news!", Misty yelled. May smiled.

"Let's!", May yelled back. The two of them then ran off the dock and towards the house, leaving Ash and Drew there standing by themselves. They both sweatdropped.

"Do girls always get excited about things like this?", Ash asked.

"I don't know, but on the bright side, I do get a break from her", Drew commented. Ash turned to look at Drew for a moment in silence.

"...wow, you've been dating May for five minutes and already you're proving to be a bad boyfriend", Ash said. Drew thought for a moment n what he said and then blushed in embarrassment. After a couple of hours everyone had heard of the big news. Needless to say everyone was thrilled for them. After the minor celebrations and dinner, everyone was relaxed more or less. Soon the sun had set and it was getting dark. But since it was still nice outside, Ash decided it would be a good idea to have that bonfire Brock had mentioned that morning. So after searching for a moment, Ash had found a pile of firewood on the opposite side of the house, near some trees and bushes. There was little space on the other side of the house because of a small hill and the plant life, but there was enough for a stack of wood that could easily last a couple of weeks. With help from Brock, Gary, and Tracy, Ash brought some of the wood to the bonfire pit and started a fire. The pit was located a few feet away from the lake house, down a slight slope. Chairs were brought out from every-which place and were placed randomly around the pit. They formed a C around the fire because the smoke did not lift high enough in the air and could still get into people's faces. James brought out a couple bottles from the bar in the basement, but hid some others for himself later. Within a half an hour, everyone was outside and around the fire except for Brock, who had gone inside to retrieve something. Ash laid back in his chair and looked up at the night sky; which was covered in stars.

"Wow, what a day!", Ash said exhausted and yet fascinated. Misty, (who sat next to him), laid back in her chair as well.

"I know, to think that tomorrow's our last full day here! This vacation went by too fast", Misty said.

"We'll just have to make the best of it", Ash said. He then glanced around to see where everyone was located. Realizing that no one was paying much attention to them, he looked back at Misty. "What about you? Are you enjoying yourself?", he said in a whisper. Misty looked at him in bewilderment.

"Yes, why?", Misty asked.

"I thought that you were still depressed from yesterday", Ash said. Misty then remembered her and Ash's moment on the deck and looked away from him.

"Oh...oh yeah", Misty said with a hint of sadness. Ash was saddened to see this and began to hate himself for bringing it back up. He turned his head towards Misty.

"Misty, I made you a promise and I plan on keeping it. If I didn't make your vacation worth while today then I will tomorrow", Ash stated. Misty looked up at his face, his eyes filled with the same determination she knew and loved. She grew a small smile. Suddenly, they heard the noise of approaching footsteps from behind them. They turned around to see Brock appear, holding a large object that was hidden due to the darkness.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late", Brock said as he sat on a large rock near the fire. In his hands he held a guitar; one that looked used but well taken cared of.

"What's with the guitar?", May asked. Brock began to tune the guitar.

"Well, I decided that it's a good night, we're all together having fun, and I figured I'd treat you all to some music", Brock said. Ash looked at him in shock.

"How come you never told me you played the guitar!", Ash asked. Brock was prepared to play it now.

"Because you never asked", Brock responded. Ash made an annoyed face, which only made the others laugh. Brock then began to stroke the cords on the guitar in rhythm. "This is just a little song I made for just such an occasion". Brock then struck the cords harder and faster than before as he began to sing.

"_It was the end of summer time, my thoughts were short my hair was long/caught somewhere between a boy and man. She was seventeen and she was far from in-between/ it was summertime in Northern Kanto_". The group watched in amazement and began to clap to the beat, making Brock smile.

"_Splashing through the sandbar, talking by the campfire, it's the simple things in life like when or where/We didn't have no Pokenav, but man I never will forget, the way the moonlight shined upon her head"_ Max looked over next to him and talked to Gary.

"And here I thought Brock could only play the maracas!", Max said. Gary laughed. Brock sung louder for the chorus.

"_And we were trying different things/ we were doing funny things/ making love out by the lake to our favorite song. Sipping whiskey out the bottle, not thinking bout tomorrow/ singing "Sweet Home Pallet Town" all summer long"._ Brock quieted down for the next bit since the chorus was now over.

"_Catching Magikarp from the dock/ watching the waves roll off the rocks/ she'll forever hold a spot inside my soul. We'd blister in the sun/ we couldn't wait for night to come/ to hit that sand and play some rock and roll!"._ Now everyone was beginning to sing along to the chorus while still clapping to the beat.

"_While we were trying different things/ we were doing funny things/ making love out by the lake to our favorite song. Sipping whiskey out the bottle, not thinking bout tomorrow/ singing "Sweet Home Pallet Town" all summer long". _Brock then began to jam out on the guitar even more than before, standing up as he did so. Everyone clapped and cheered as he created beats for them to follow. He did this solo for about a minute before sitting back down on the rock and playing the guitar like he did before.

"_Now nothing seems as strange as when the leaves began to change/ or how we thought those days would never end. Sometimes I'll hear that song and I'll start to sing along/ and think man I'd love to see that girl again"_ Suddenly Brock hit the cords faster again as he repeated the chorus.

"_And we were trying different things/ we were doing funny things/ making love out by the lake to our favorite song. Sipping whiskey out the bottle, not thinking bout tomorrow/ singing "Sweet Home Pallet Town" all summer long...singing "Sweet Home Pallet Town" all summer long...singing "Sweet Home Pallet Town" all summer long!"._He then repeated the chorus again for the others to sing along with. After doing so, he played a little tune on the guitar until ending the song with one final strum on the cords. Everyone then clapped, cheered, and whistled for Brock until the excitement died down.

"That was a good song Brock! Describes us perfectly!", Ash said. After Ash said this, Brock looked to his left and then chuckled. He leaned over to Ash, not taking his eyes off of what he saw.

"Yeah, some more than others!", Brock said pointing. Ash looked and saw James lying on the ground, a whiskey bottle in hand. Both Ash and Brock broke down into laughter. As the night progressed, people would say goodnight, go inside, and go to bed; one by one. Within two hours, everyone was inside except for Dawn, Gary, and May. Gary leaned back in his lawn chair, drinking what appeared to be beer. Dawn spaced out into the low, kindling flames that remained in the bonfire. May noticed her and tapped on her shoulder.

"Dawn, what's wrong?", May asked. Dawn glanced over to her and smiled.

"Oh nothing, just thinking", Dawn replied. May then leaned forward so that she was closer to Dawn.

"Why don't you talk about it?", May asked. Dawn seemed to think on it until she replied.

"Well...I think Ash likes Misty", Dawn said. Gary, who was only listening until this point, chuckled.

"Tell me something I don't know", Gary said. He then took a sip of his drink. Dawn shook her head.

"But this is different. I think...Ash not only likes Misty, but he loves her", Dawn continued. May put her hands together.

"Ah! How cute!", May replied. Dawn looked over to May.

"And I think Misty's afraid of that", Dawn said. May put her hands down. She thought for a moment and then realized what she meant.

"Oh yeah, I see what you mean", May said. Gary, who was now getting more involved with the conversation, leaned in.

"Why's that a problem? She likes him too doesn't she?", Gary asked. Dawn shook her head.

"It's not that, Misty lacks the self confidence; she feels that Ash deserves better", Dawn explained. Gary realized what she meant and leaned back in his chair.

"Ah...I see...in a way, it's like your situation, only in different contexts", Gary theorized. Both May and Dawn looked at him in bewilderment.

"What do you mean?", Dawn asked confused. Gary leaned forward, ready to explain.

"Well look at it this way. Both you and Misty lack confidence, but in different ways. You lack in self confidence because you feel that you're a Goldeen out of water with all of us. You think you don't fit in with the gang here, most of whom you've never even met before. You feel that you have to do alot just to make us approve of you. Whereas Misty's lack in self confidence comes from a romantic point of view. She knows she's a good friend, but feels like she isn't as good as the rest of us, probably due to her being gone for so long at the gym. She thinks that she isn't deserving of love because she thinks that what she did was wrong", Gary explained. As May tried to put together everything that Gary said, Dawn looked at him in shock.

"How...how did you know about my problem!", Dawn asked. Gary leaned back in his chair.

"You don't get to be Prof. without seeing stuff for what they are", Gary explained, taking a sip of his drink. There was a moment's pause before suddenly, May stood up from her seat. Dawn and Gary looked at her.

"Then that's just what we're gonna have to fix!", May said determined.

"What?", Dawn asked.

"We'll give Misty the confidence to accept herself. And in the process, give you the confidence to feel accepted by us! Are you with me?", May asked holding out her hand to Dawn. Dawn looked at it for a moment until she smiled and grasped it with her own hand. May helped her up out of her chair.

"Let's do it!", Dawn exclaimed full of confidence. Her and May then looked at Gary. "What about you Gary?', Dawn asked. Gary looked up at them.

"Do I get to make fun of Ash?", Gary asked.

"If it helps with our plan", May answered. Gary then raised his can.

"Then I'm in!", Gary exclaimed. He then gurgled down the remainder of his drink, threw the can onto the ground, and then stood up.

"Alright, the three of us are gonna get through this and by this time tomorrow, Ash and Misty will be together!", May said in a positive manner. Her, Dawn, and Gary then put their hands on top of each others and threw them up in the air.

"Yeah!", they all cheered.

"Alright, let's all go to bed and prepare for tomorrow", Dawn suggested. May nodded and the two girls headed inside at a brisk pace. Gary turned around and picked up a bucket filled with water. He poured the water onto the fire, spreading it all over the flames and snuffing them out. After making sure it was out entirely, Gary put the bucket down, picked up his empty can, and then walked inside the lake house. When he finally got inside the girls were already gone, most likely already in the attic. He walked through the living room and dining room to get to the Kitchen. He placed his can on the counter by the sink and then walked down the hall. As he did so, he heard a noise coming from the laundry room and stopped. His eyes were not entirely adjusted to the darkness of the house just yet, but he could see the latch door open up on the floor. He saw Drew poke his head up and then walk up the remainder of the stairs in the basement and stepped onto the laundry room floor.

"Shouldn't you be asleep?", Gary asked. Drew turned to face Gary, slightly shocked at hearing him when he thought he was by himself. After a short pause, he smirked.

"Shouldn't you?", Drew asked. Gary smirked back.

"Touche", Gary responded.

"I couldn't sleep, so I decided to come up here for a bit, figured I could watch t.v. or something and not disturb the others", Drew explained.

"Oh, I see. Well I'm off to bed, goodnight", Gary said as he walked by Drew and began to walk down the basement stairs.

"Night", Drew responded. Gary then closed the latch door behind him and Drew went down the other end of the hall. He passed the stair and walked up to the large windows, where he watched the nightlife outdoors. Meanwhile, upstairs in the attic, May tossed and turned on the floor, trying to get comfortable. After failing to do so multiple times, she sighed.

"So much for sleep tonight...Hey Dawn, are you still up?", May asked in a whisper. No response. May rolled over to see her and Misty lying sound asleep on the floor. Jessie was on the couch also sleeping with a loud snore. May stood up quietly and walked towards the spiral staircase. "Oh well, might as well go play pool". As she placed her bare feet on the cool metal stairs, she slipped and rolled down the stairs. She soon hit the bottom of the stairs, her legs still lying on the last few steps as she laid sprawled on her back. May laid there for a moment, both in pain and waiting for one of the girls to help her up. But realizing that no one was coming, she sweatdropped. "Those girls could sleep through the storm of the century", May exclaimed. She then stood up, rubbing any body parts that hurt. When she finished, she walked over near the fireplace to grab one of the pool sticks. Just before she did however, she heard a creak from the hall. She paused, her heart racing and her hand just inches from the sticks. May looked to her left where the first door to the hall was and saw a shadow on the floor. Although it was dark out the hall was always lit from the moonlight, which shown through the porch in the master bedroom down the hall. Slowly, she bent down and picked up an ash shovel placed near several basic fireplace tools. She held the shovel in her hands, prepared to swing at any moment. May walked slowly towards the hallway entrance. When she reached it, she stood waiting. Her heart was beating faster than ever as she noticed the shadow on the floor get larger and the creaks louder. May gripped the shovel tighter and right when she felt it was now or never, she ran out into the hall and swung down hard. May had closed her eyes in fear but heard a bang from the shovel hitting something and then a thud on the floor. She opened her eyes and looked on the ground to see Drew lying on his back with swirls in his eyes. May gasped and dropped the shovel onto the carpeted floor. She then ran to Drew's side, kneeled down, and held Drew up. "Drew! Are you ok! Oh my god, I didn't mean to hit you!", May said scared. Drew opened his eyes and looked at May with an annoyed expression.

"I can't even walk into a room without getting hit in the head with a shovel!", Drew asked in a annoyed yet whispered tone.

"Well you were creeping around up here! You scared me, what were you doing!", May asked defending herself.

"I heard a loud thud and I came up here to investigate, I was quiet because I didn't want to wake everyone up if it was nothing", Drew explained as May helped him up to his feet.

"Well the thud was me, I couldn't sleep so I was going to play pool when I fell down the stairs", May said annoyed at herself. Drew looked at her in a seriously worried expression.

"You did! You're not hurt are you, let me see", Drew said as he turned May around and examined her head. May allowed him to continue even though she felt it was unnecessary.

"Oh relax, I'm fine. There's no reason to panic", May explained. Drew, after determining that there were no injuries to May, turned her around so that they were facing each other. He looked into her brown eyes, giving her an actual genuine smile.

"What? I can't worry about my girlfriend?", Drew asked. May looked at him oddly for a moment. Drew smiled more. "Or are you just not used to the idea yet?". May made a slight sincere smile.

"No it's not that...it's just, you don't need to always worry about me", May said. She then slowly wrapped her arms around Drew's neck. "I can take care of myself, I've come along way from being that city girl from Petalburg...but if something does come up I'm glad I have my big, fierce Drew to take care of me", May said. Drew smiled. He then wrapped his arms around May's waist.

"Well then, I'm glad you've grown up", Drew said. There was a moment's pause, complete silence as they looked into each other's eyes. Then very slowly, Drew moved his head closer to May's. May caught on quickly and did the same. Their eyes closed and within moments their lips touched. They wrapped around themselves tighter and intensified their kissing. Soon, Drew gently maneuvered May into the wall beside them, not breaking their embrace. May slid her tongue into Drew's mouth, Drew responded by doing the same to her. He then placed his right hand onto May's bare left thigh, resulting in a slight moan from May. She in turn put her hands under Drew's black t-shirt and onto his back. Drew broke the kissing and looked into May's eyes. "I love you". May breathed heavily

"I love you too", May responded quickly. Drew then released May. However, this was short lived as he grasped May's hand and ;ed her down the hall into the master bedroom. Quickly, Drew and May ran onto the bed and under the sheets. They both smiled and looked at each other.

"Where do we go from here?", Drew asked. May smiled.

"We'll find out", May said. She then rolled on top of Drew, both of them smiling and kissing. Meanwhile, down in the basement, Ash was tossing and turning in his sleep; sweating profusely. He mumbled some words until he suddenly bolted upright in a short scream. He panted heavily as he got a bearing of his surroundings. He looked around, realizing he was in the basement with the rest of the guys, (he failed to notice Drew's absence). He was on the floor in his sleeping bag. He said nothing and listened, wondering if anyone else was awake. After complete silence, he felt his forehead, realizing he was quite hot and sweaty. He slowed his panting down as best he could but found it difficult. Just then, Ash felt something soft and furry touch his hand, (which was on the ground to support himself up). He looked to see Pikachu, rubbing against him in worry and comfort. Ash made a slight smile.

"Hey little buddy, did I wake you?", Ash asked. Pikachu sat beside him in the same position his trainer was in.

"Pika, Pikachu?', Pikachu asked. Ash shook his head and looked in front of himself towards the wall in deep thought.

"No just a...nightmare of sorts. This one was different though, it felt...real, like a vision", Ash explained.

"Pikachu", Pikachu mentioned.

"I know, and that's what worries me", Ash replied.

"Chu, Pika Pikachu?", Pikachu asked.

"No, it wasn't like that, it was more like...a warning...and it was about Misty", Ash said. Pikachu looked up at his master, hoping he'd continue. "It was at that romantic spot we found, the one on that huge rock overlooking the lake. It was storming, badly. She was sitting there, crying. I tried to save her, but I couldn't move, a tree was on top of me. She didn't notice me...hear me...the storm was too loud. Then lightning struck. It hit her...she screamed, and then she was blasted off the rock and into the lake...it was horrible", Ash explained. Pikachu placed his small paw on Ash's hand.

"Pika, pikachu pi, kachu, Pikachu", Pikachu said in synpathy. Ash smiled.

"Thanks little buddy, you always make me better", Ash said. There was a long silence after that, neither knowing what to do or say next. Just then, Ash spoke. "It hurts you know". Pikachu looked at him in bewilderment. "Misty...being so lonely and sad...it hurts me to see her like that", Ash explained. He then looked down, placing his arms around his legs. "But I made that promise and I intend to keep it, I will make her happy!". Pikachu nodded and smiled cheerfully. "The only question is...how? What can I do to make this vacation worth while?". Both Ash and Pikachu seemed to be in deep thought until Pikachu thought of something.

"Pikapi, chu, pikachu. Pi pika, pikachupi!", Pikachu said. Ash considered what Pikachu said and smiled.

"Hey you know, that may just work! It's a little odd and possibly risky, but I may have no other choice...alright, tomorrow, we put our plan into action!", Ash exclaimed. Meanwhile, back upstairs, May and Drew were still in the bed of the master bedroom. After some moving around and noises, May shot up from the bed, nothing but a sheet covering her. She held the bed sheet over her naked chest with one arm while holding her head with her other hand. She was panting and beginning to panic.

"Oh my god! I can't believe we just did that! I can't believe I had sex with you! I can't believe I lost my virginity at such a young age!", May said quickly and overwhelmed. She said it in a hushed tone, so not to wake the others. As she sat there still in a panic, Drew sat up, not bothering to cover his chest with the bed sheet. He looked at the panic stricken May and laughed slightly.

"I can't believe you actually knew what you were doing!", Drew said. May slapped him in the chest with the hand that was supporting her head.

"Now isn't the time Drew! This is a very serious situation!", May said angrily. Drew sighed.

"So we went in a little over our heads, so what?", Drew asked. May glared at him.

"So what! So what! We're both still in our late teens, neither of us are twenty yet, and we're already on the wrong path! Something very bad could arise from this!", May yelled just quiet enough so that no one could hear them.

"Not likely, I used a", before Drew could finish, May cut him off.

"THEY'RE NOT GUARANTEED!", May yelled, no longer being quiet. Drew quickly covered her mouth, silencing her. They both sat there in silence for a few moments and then decided that no one heard them. Drew then released his hand from May's mouth.

"What, you want the whole house to know we did it!", Drew asked annoyed.

"Drew! Do you not realize perplexities of this situation! And yes, I know, I used big words, shut it!", May said. Drew snapped his figures in frustration, beaten to the punch. "I mean, what if something bad happens because of this! What if...what if...". Drew relaxed and then placed his hands over May's.

"May, it's alright, nothing bad is going to happen", Drew said reassuringly. May looked at him, more settled, yet still worried.

"But...how do you know?", May asked. Drew smiled.

"I just...do", Drew answered. At this, May smiled too. Although she did not fully understand him, she knew that Drew wouldn't let her astray. Drew then released May's hands from his grip and laid back down. He put his hands behind his head and looked up at the ceiling. "Well now what? Do you want to go back to bed or...". May laid down as well and leaned into Drew, wrapping her arms around him in the process. She smiled and nuzzled into Drew's side.

"No, I want to be with you", May replied quietly. Drew smiled and turned to face May. They then began to kiss again, but with less intensity and more romance.

**WOAH HO HO! WHAT A DOOSEY THAT IS! Well I hope you liked this chapter, I certainly did. I know that them having sex is OOC since they're from a kid's show, but I want to show myself that they're not kids anymore. I mean, Pokemon's been going on for what, 15 years or so? They technically should mostly be in their late teens at least, early twenties mostly! But I can't blame the creators, they want them to retain their youth, and I respect that. Oh, and before I forget, I don't own any rights to "All Summer Long", to Kid Rock, or anything else related to them. I don't think they'll sue, but eh, better safe than sorry. So, as usual, keep up with those reviews and things, I appreciate reading them. I will respond to as many of them as I can. "With this sudden situation between May and Drew, will something bad happen? Will Ash be able to keep his promise to Misty? Will Dawn finally feel accepted by the others? Find out in the next thrilling installment of EVAN AAML'S "The Lake House"!". Never gets old! Oh, and by the way, how about those New York Giants beating the Detroit Lions? Yes, for those who don't already know, I am a New York Giants fan. I have to say New York now because otherwise you may think of the San Fran Giants, (I of course am a Yankee fan, so...yeah). Well all that aside, please review, tell friends about this story, anything. And until then, I will see you all later! Enjoy your week, I know I won't! (college = not fun).**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	7. Chapter 7

**Well I'm back again ladies and gentleman for another update. And what oh what should I rant about this time? Hmm...I guess nothing. Halloween is around the corner and I have to say, although Christmas is my favorite holiday to spend with family, in general Halloween is my favorite. I never knew why, since trick-or-treating for me is utterly pointless, (I don't like chocolate...waiting for the hate mail on that one). But I always liked dressing up in costumes for Halloween, and let me say that I am VERY original. I was Scream, then Jason, then the Grim Reaper, then a axe skeleton demon...and then Jack Sparrow. I know, original right! How about you all tell me your costumes for this year, leave it in a review. I plan on being a mobster this year for no reason since I have no plans. Anyway, onto my newest chapter!**

**-EVAN AAML**

Hours later the sun began to rise in the horizon. A few patches of the light from the sun began to creep through the branches and openings on the hills. One of these patches just so happened to peak through the lone window of the attic. This ray of light made it's way into the room and onto the face of a sleeping Jessie. Moments later, Jessie's face cringed and she covered her eyes. Sensing that the light would not go away, she awoken. Jessie sat up from the couch and looked out the window, squinting at the little bit of light still shining through. She looked at her wrist watch and could see that it was about six thirty. Jessie rubbed her eyes and then stretched, ready to get out of bed. As she turned her body and placed her feet on the cold wooden floor, she looked at the sleeping masses of Misty and May. Not realizing that May was missing nor even caring, Jessie made her way to the spiral staircase and walked down it. As soon as she made it to the bottom of the steps, she walked straight ahead, out of the entertainment room. Jessie then made her way to the bathroom, just down the hall from the second doorway to the entertainment room. The bathroom was a decent size, mostly white but with a style that matched most of the house. She decided that it was too early to take a shower just yet and so only took care of the basic morning routines. After finishing, she left the bathroom and made her way down the hall. However, as she walked, she noticed something on the ground in front of the first entrance to the entertainment room. She bent down and picked up the shovel to the fireplace. Wondering how it got there and who put it there, Jessie placed the shovel back to its original location and looked upstairs to investigate. Not finding anything out of the ordinary in the hall, bathroom, or entertainment room, she decided to check out the master bedroom. Immediately when she walked in, she spotted May and Drew in the bed. May laid on her side and clung to Drew, who lied on his back. Both of them were asleep. Jessie didn't make a noise or even respond to the scene before her. She just looked at the two sleeping teens with a blank stare, as if she was still getting used to being awake. Jessie then slowly walked out of the bedroom, down the stairs, and into the Kitchen where she saw the familiar site of Brock making coffee. He had already poured himself a mug and had a few more mugs out for those who wanted coffee. He turned to see Jessie and smiled.

"Well, good morning! I see you decided to wake up early again!", Brock said and he grabbed one of the mugs and poured some coffee into it. When he finished he handed it to Jessie. "So what's up?". Jessie shrugged.

"Eh, not much, just got up, it's our last full day here, probably gonna spend it outside in this beautiful weather, and oh, May and Drew had sex last night", Jessie said bluntly as she took a sip of coffee. Brock immediately spewed out the coffee he had in his mouth and looked at Jessie in shock.

"WHAT!", Brock yelled. Although this came to a shock for him, he still kept his voice down low enough so as to not wake the others. "They did that! Are you sure!".

"Well, when I found them, May was", Jessie stated before being interrupted by Brock.

"Nyah, no, no, don't tell me!", Brock yelled. Just then, a noise could be heard from the laundry room and before long, Ash walked into the Kitchen. He was still tired and could barely keep his head up. Brock tried to keep his cool, something that he did a bad job at doing. But Ash was too tired to notice. Brock handed him some coffee. "Uh, hey Ash, what's up?". Ash yawned.

"Well, I didn't get alot of sleep last night, other than that not much...you?", Ash asked. Brock wasn't sure how Ash would react to the news that he himself was barely able to comprehend. But feeling that not telling him and instead having him find out on his own would possibly create more havoc; Brock decided to break the news.

"Uh, well...May and Drew sort of, uhm...had sex?", Brock said, preparing for the worst. Ash took a sip of coffee and shrugged.

"Hmm, that's nice", Ash said. He then walked past Jessie and into the other room. Brock and Jessie looked at each other.

"Three, two, one", they counted in unison. Immediately following the one, the sound of something being spat out of one's mouth could be heard.

"MAY AND DREW DID WHAT!" Ash yelled, not taking into regard silence. Jessie and Brock immediately broke into laughter. After a bit of a talk between the three, they all decided that it was best not to tell the others. They felt that May and Drew shouldn't have that much attention on them for their last day. After an hour or so, everyone was up and were prepared for the day ahead. Breakfast was quickly served and soon people began to eat. Although the breakfast was just as big as the day before, it seemed to go by quicker. Afterwards as people finished, there was discussion over what to do. At the table in the dining room sat Ash, Tracy, Brock, Misty, Dawn, and Gary. As they ate what remained of their breakfast they thought about what to do for the day.

"So how about fishing?", Gary suggested. Ash shook his head.

"Did it, besides, do you honestly think the majority of us here have that attention span needed?", Ash asked. Gary thought for a moment and then nodded in agreement.

"We could try out the kayaks or paddle boat!", Dawn said. This time Brock shook his head.

"There's only three one person kayaks, and the paddle boat apparently needs repairs", Brock said. Dawn sighed in disappointment.

"We could go hunting! I bet we could find more Stantler!", Tracy joked looking directly at Misty. As he grinned in amusement, Misty slapped him. "OW!...well I'll take that as a definite possibility". Misty slapped him again. "OW! OK!...it's a maybe". A third slap. "OW! ALRIGHT WE WON'T! JEEZ!", he yelled. Just then, Misty got an idea.

"Hey, how about a hike?", Misty suggested. There was a moment's pause to let the idea sink in, then everyone started nodding.

"Yeah, that sounds do-able!", Dawn said.

"Alright by me", Brock said.

"Well its better than my idea", Tracy commented rubbing his arm from the repetitive slaps.

"So then, we're all going hiking!", Ash finalized. There were serious and sarcastic cheers all around. And so, with the decision made, everyone prepared for the hike. Max being the adventurous type to begin with, had been prepared for a hike since their arrival to the lake house. As such, he spent his time picking a route for them to go on. He had made a decision, but wanted the opinions of others to be on the safe side. Not knowing where the majority of the people were, he first made his way to the basement. So he went into the laundry room, lifted the latch door, and then walked down the stairs. When he reached the bottom he looked around and saw Ash and Pikachu on the ground, their backs to him. As he approached them, Pikachu's ears perked and he turned to see the boy. Quickly, he muttered in his own language to Ash, who in turn looked over his shoulder and saw Max. In a hurry, he grabbed multiple items hidden from Max's view and hid them in a small red pouch. As soon as he did, he slid the pouch into his front hoodie pocket. Ash then stood up and looked at the boy.

"Uh, hey Max! hat are you up to?", Ash asked nervously. Max looked at him confused.

"Uhm...not much. I just wanted your opinion on something", Max answered.

"Great! What is it you want my opinion on?", Ash asked, still fidgeting with the pouch in his pocket. Max noticed this and became suspicious.

"Ash, what is that you're hiding?", Max asked.

"What! Hiding! Nonsense you're seeing things!", Ash stated. Pikachu sweatdropped and shook his head in disappointment towards Ash.

"Then what's in your pocket?", Max asked. Ash became jumpy and his heart raced. He quickly ran to Max and began pushing him towards the stairs.

"Don't you have somewhere to be right now?", Ash said in a more demanding way than a question. Max looked back at him with the map he had.

"But I still need your opinion on the route we should take on our hike!", Max said trying to resist Ash's pushing to no avail.

"I'm sure whatever route you picked is perfect, now leave!", Ash said as he pushed Max up the stairs and out of the basement. Max quickly turned around as Ash grabbed the latch door.

"But I", Max said before being cut off by the shutting of the door. As silence entered the basement, Ash sighed with relief. He then made his way down the stairs, where Pikachu stood waiting.

"Things are starting to get out of hand Pikachu, that was too close!", Ash said. Pikachu nodded. Ash then reached into his pocket and pulled out the red pouch. It was a dark red pouch made out of a soft fabric with golden draw strings. "Good thing I finished these before Max came down". He gently tossed the bag into the air a few times, catching it as it fell every time. He then placed the bag into his pocket again. "Alright Pikachu, after our hike I'll give Misty these, then hopefully she'll finally smile and accept that she's still one of us...I just hope she doesn't find it too cheesy", Ash said.

"Pika", Pikachu said positively. He then ran up Ash's leg and planted himself on his usual perch; Ash's shoulder.

"Ok, let's go!", Ash said. When everyone was prepared for the hike, they sat and looked at Max's route. The hike consisted of a path starting at the house and going through the woods. It would then lead to the main road, where they would cross and continue down another path. They would then go around a rather strenuous mountain trail and then down a bike trail back to the original path, which would finally lead them home. Although his route was long, Max predicted that it would be a relatively short hike, which suited the others just fine. The gang then left the house and made their way to the first path. This just so happened to be the path that Ash and Misty took on their first day at the lake house. Upon realizing this, Ash quickly steered the rest of the group away from the path that lead to the spot. They all seemed confused as to why he was acting in this way and still wanted to follow the path. But suddenly, Dawn spoke up, saying that she wanted to go the other way as well. Ash was not sure why she said this, but it seemed to work since the others decided that they would go around this path then. Ash sighed with relief. The hike itself was easy at first, since they were only going uphill at a slight slope and it was not muddy. After about ten minutes the gang made some great progress and were moving at a quick pace. But suddenly, Max, (who was leading the pack), stopped, which caused the others to do the same. Max looked ahead of him, then down to his map, and then back to the path. Not to far ahead of him was a fork in the route. One way leading towards the direction of the main road, the other going downhill the opposite direction. Max turned around to face the others, a little embarrassed.

"Uh, hehe, sorry guys, I missed this on the map", Max said.

"Missed what?", Ash asked. Max held up the map and pointed to a spot on it.

"This is where we are, as I made the route for us to follow, I didn't notice this fork in front of us. This second path leads down the hill and around the lake for a bit before returning in a circle here. So I guess now we have two options. We can either go down the left trail, which is the one I made out, or go down the right. It's just as long, but without the hard hike around the mountain", Max explained. Everyone thought for a moment, not exactly sure what to do. Jessie then stepped forward.

"Well I know what I'm doing. I didn't go on vacation to make much effort on anything", Jessie explained. She then walked ahead of the others and began her way down the right trail towards the lake. Everyone watched her for a moment until Dawn stepped forward.

"I guess I'll go down that way too, I think the lake will be more scenic than the mountain", Dawn explained.

"Ok then, so I guess we'll all head this way and whoever doesn't want the harder hike can go with Dawn and Jessie", Brock suggested. Everyone else nodded. May grabbed Dawn's arm and they made their way down the right trail as the others went down the left one. Misty was about to leave when she turned around and saw Ash and Pikachu, standing there in deep contemplation. Misty approached them.

"Uh, what are you guys doing?", Misty asked. Ash looked at her for a moment.

"Well, we have no idea what path we want to follow", Ash explained. He then returned to thought, closing his eyes and putting his hand to his chin. Pikachu did the same. Misty giggled and grabbed Ash's arm.

"Here, I'll decide for you", Misty said. She then pulled Ash with her down the right trail. Before they knew it, Ash, Misty, and Pikachu had caught up with the other three girls and they made their way down the path. Jessie remained ahead of them, ignoring them as if she was on the path alone.

"So Dawn, are you beginning to feel more accepted?", May asked Dawn in a slight whisper. Although it was hushed down, Pikachu was still able to pick up their conversation. He perked his ears this way and that until he could listen in better.

"Uhm, well...", Dawn replied. May sighed.

"Dawn, I don't get it, we're all nice to you, we don't treat you differently, how is it that you feel left out?", May asked. Dawn sighed.

"Well...I don't know. I just feel like a third wheel. While we travel in Sinnoh, Ash and Brock always talk about their past journeys and I'm just always listening. We never talk about what's occurred on our journey together. I feel like, I don't know, like I have to pass some sort of "initiation" before being one of you", Dawn explained in detail. As May and Dawn continued to talk, Pikachu brought himself closer to Ash and began to whisper in his ear. Ash listened carefully to what his little Pokemon had to say.

"I don't think there's any initiation to be one of us Dawn", May joked. "You'd be surprised how quickly we all got accepted by one another. In fact, the only thing I can think of as an initiation is Ash destroying your bike, which if I recall, automatically qualifies you!". The girls then both laughed. The laughing seemed to annoy Jessie and she glanced over her shoulder to see the two teens.

"Hey, would you mind cooling it down back there", Jessie said irritated. May and Dawn looked at Jessie. Jessie looked back to what was ahead of her. "Bad enough that I have to put up with it in the attic, I don't want to have to put up with it out here".

"Oh come on Jessie, this whole vacation you've done nothing but complain! You're missing out on the whole meaning of a vacation!", May explained.

"Yeah, when are you finally going to have fun Jessie?", Dawn asked. Jessie suddenly stopped, causing the others behind her to do so as well. She then turned around and faced May and Dawn with a annoyed expression.

"Alright listen, the reason why I'm not having _fun_ is because I haven't been on vacation in years. You'd be surprised what Team Rocket's vacation terms are", Jessie explained. Misty stepped forward.

"So the problem isn't that you're choosing to not have fun, the problem is...you don't know exactly how?", Misty guessed. Jessie began to get slightly angry.

"I don't think I need to explain myself to all of you twerps, let's just keep going shall we?", Jessie said. She then turned around and continued to walk down the path. The girls all looked at each other and Ash looked at Pikachu, all confused. Jessie, still walking, made a blush of embarrassment across her face, but tried to hide it. The path, as predicted, did go for a long way, but they seemed to make progress quickly. Soon, they were all at the lake. As the girls all gazed at the beauty of this section of water, Pikachu continued to whisper in Ash's ear. He nodded for a bit and then went into thought. He then began to whisper himself.

"You know, I didn't really realize this, but it seems that Misty isn't the only one having problems here", Ash said. Pikachu nodded. "I mean, Dawn finds it hard to feel accepted, Jessie doesn't know how to relax and enjoy life, and then there's Misty...". As he said this, he looked at the red headed girl, who ignored his private discussion and gazed at the lake. "You know what I think Pikachu? I think that the little surprise we made for Misty, should be shared with the rest of our friends. I even feel guilty for not realizing that they were having problems too. Well not anymore", Ash explained. He then looked at Pikachu and they both nodded. Ash stepped forward, closer to the girls. "Uh, I think we should start making our way back, the others might be there already". The girls nodded and made their way along the path once more. Before long, their trail made a circle and they found themselves returning to where they started. Once there, they only waited for a minute or two before the others came walking towards them. Max ran forward to her sister with excitement in his eyes.

"Oh man, you missed it May, it was an amazing hike! We saw so many different types of Pokemon that we never see home!", Max stated.

"Oh did you now? That's great!", May said.

"Yeah, and James slipped and slid down a hill and into a tree", Brock said with a laugh. After he said this James came into view, his head down in embarrassment.

"Good thing those rocks slowed me down", James said with no enthusiasm.

"What about you guys?", Brock asked. Ash looked at the girls and then back to Brock.

"Nothing too big, just a quiet little walk", Ash responded. Brock nodded. "Alright then, should we head back?"

"Yeah I guess", Brock responded. The others then began to head down the path they started with. Because the trail was familiar to them now, going back took a shorter time than going ahead. Upon reaching the vicinity of the house, Ash felt a tug on his arm. He stopped walking, allowing the others to go ahead of him, and turned around. There he saw Misty, who was smiling slightly.

"Ash...thank you", Misty said. Ash smiled, even if he didn't know what for.

"For what?", Ash asked.

"For keeping our little hidden spot a secret, I appreciate it", Misty answered.

"Of course Misty, remember, you're my best _human_friend", Ash said with emphasis on human. Pikachu nodded in satisfaction. "I told you that I would keep it a secret between us, and I intend to do so. Just like I intend on making this vacation worth while for you". Misty smiled, but in that smile, Ash could detect a sense of doubt. "Misty...what's wrong?". Misty's smile faded and she lowered her head.

"There's no need for all of this...for any of this", Misty said. Ash was going to ask what she meant by this but she continued. "I may have been your best friend before, but I left you, I stayed in Cerulean City while you traveled around the world making new friends. I don't deserve a friend like you, I should just be forgotten". Ash could not believe the words that were coming out of her mouth. How could she think that she was so un-deserving? Misty tried to step past Ash to go in the house, but Ash grabbed hold of her arm, stopping her.

"I refuse to let one of my friends drown herself in self doubt! I don't care what you think you've done wrong or how long it's been since we've seen each other, there is no way that I will accept that!", Ash said in a normal but stern tone. Misty's eyes widened in shock. He had never spoken like this before for anything less than saving the world; why would he do it now, was it that important? Without even turning around to face him Ash continued. "I have something that will hopefully end this, come inside". Ash then walked forward, past Misty and towards the house, where he assumed everyone else was already. Misty remained behind in disbelief for a moment, unsure of exactly what had just occurred. But she soon gathered her thoughts together and walked towards the house as well. She walked up to the front door and placed her hand on the handle. But before opening it, she thought of what Ash could possibly have in store for her. She wasn't sure if it would be something that would change their relationship or not. But she decided that there would be no way of finding out unless she went inside. So she turned the door knob and entered the lake house. Upon entering, she saw Ash on the other side of the house, near the dining room table. Near him was Tracy, Gary, Team Rocket, Max, and Pikachu, all of their eyes on either Ash or Misty.

"What's going on?", Misty asked as she stepped closer. Suddenly, the remainder of the house guests came down the stairs, May being in front of them.

"Why did you call us down Ash? I was going to take a nap", May said yawning, her arms in the air stretching. Ash stepped forward a bit.

"I called everyone because I want to give you all something", Ash explained. Everyone, Misty in particular, looked intrigued. Ash then smiled at Pikachu, who gave a happy nod back. He then reached into the pocket of his hoodie and pulled out the dark reg bag. Max looked at this and realized that this was the item that Ash was hiding from him earlier. Ash put his fingers at the clump that closed the bag and pulled on it, making the draw string give way. Once open, he reached into the bag and pulled out multiple small objects. He handed them to Pikachu, who took them and then scampered down his leg. Once Pikachu was out of the way, Ash walked towards Misty and put his hand back into the bag. "Hold out your hand", Ash told Misty. She did so willingly, still confused. Ash pulled out one of the objects from the bag. He examined it briefly, as if to check if it was the proper one, and then placed it in Misty's hand with a smile. Ash then stepped back to hand out the ones remaining in the bag. Misty opened her hand to see that the small object was in fact a small stone, polished so that it gleamed in the light. She turned it over to see, inscribed in a dark red, were the words "Free for a friend (no limit)". She was now more confused than before.

"What is it?", Misty asked. Ash looked back at her with a smile.

"That Misty, is what I call, a token of my appreciation", Ash said. Tracy chuckled at the pun. "I am forever grateful for having you all as my friends, so I made these to show for it". After he said this, Pikachu tugged on his pant leg. Ash looked down and immediately realized his mistake. "Oh, with Pikachu's help of course", Ash corrected. Pikachu gave a positive "Pika!".

"But...I don't understand", Misty stammered.

"These tokens on them all say what they can be used for, we can use them amongst ourselves. This way, we can share our friendship", Ash explained. After he said this, everyone examined their respective token much more intently. Brock, after doing so, smiled.

"It's made of Pewter", Brock stated, referring to the stone.

"Yeah, I thought you might like that", Ash said. May looked at her Pewter token.

"Good for one free hug...oh I'm going to use mine right now!", May said. She then pressed the token into Drew's hand. As soon as he took it, May quickly reached her arms around Drew and hugged him, giggling as she did so. Drew blushed. Gary, who was now sitting on the couch, looked at his stone.

"The bearer of this token shall be used as a punching bag for the one who needs it...ARE YOU KIDDING ME!", Gary yelled. he then crossed his arms in protest. As the others studied their stones, Ash turned around to see Team Rocket. He then reached into his pouch and pulled out three more tokens and tossed them to the three. They caught them and gazed at the tokens, and then back to Ash in bewilderment.

"For us too?", James said astonished. Ash nodded.

"I figured that once the treaty expires, you guys won't be associating with us in a friendly way, so I made yours separate from ours. If you look, your words are embroiled in yellow, not red", Ash explained. They looked at their tokens and noticed that they were indeed of a different color. "Now you can use them with each other", Ash said. James and Jessie looked at the stones and began to grow teary eyed, while Jessie seemed more shocked than happily sad. Sitting on the couch next to Gary were Max and Dawn. Dawn looked at her token.

"Good for one free kiss...hmm, now who could I use that on?", Dawn asked herself out loud in serious thought. Next to her, Max began to sweat and gave a nervous gulp. Dawn looked over to Max and noticed this. "Max, are you ok?". Max immediately tried to steady himself but failed miserably.

"Uh, yeah! Yeah, I'm fine, oky doky! Completely normal!", Max said in a panic. Dawn sweatdropped.

"O...k...", Dawn replied. As everyone talked about their tokens to themselves, Misty's gaze remained solely on the token. She felt the inscribed words with her thumb, as if making sure it was real. She looked up for a moment to see Ash staring down at the token she had as well. Realizing that Misty was no longer looking at it, he brought his attention to her.

"You see, now you can cope with all of us. Now, you don't have to be an outcast", Ash said. He then grasped both of Misty's hands together, the token within them. "Now...you don't have to be alone". Misty looked at Ash with an expression that showed a mixture of feelings. Ash smiled, unsure of her reaction, but positive that it would be a good one. Suddenly, Misty shut her eyes, tears streaming down them. She broke free of Ash's grip, turned around, and ran. Everyone watched in shock and bewilderment as she ran between May and Drew and out the front door, slamming it shut behind her. Ash broke out of his stupor and began to ran after her. "Misty!". As he reached for the door, Brock stopped him by putting his hand on his shoulder.

"Ash! Misty just needs some time alone", Brock said trying to calm the worried Pokemon trainer. Ash turned to face him, his hand still reached out for the door knob.

"But she", Ash said before being cut off.

"You know as well as I do that you running after her will only make the situation worse", Brock stated. Ash hated to hear this but knew he was right. He put his head down and lowered his out-stretched hand. Everyone seemed stunned, not sure if they should talk or not. They simply stared at each other. Suddenly, Tracy stood up.

"It's alright, she's just got to take it all in is all", Tracy said. "I think we should start dinner, let her have her time to think it over, and then we can get her when it's ready. Come on". Although reluctantly, everyone left the room to either go upstairs or to go help in the Kitchen. Tracy looked at Brock and nodded. Brock nodded back, and Tracy went to the Kitchen as well. Once he was gone, Ash, Brock, and Pikachu were the only ones left in the room.

"So tell me, was this all part of a plan?", Brock asked. Pikachu and Ash looked at each other in worry, still trying to hide the truth.

"Uh, what do you mean!", Ash asked. Brock then put his hand into his jacket pocket and pulled out his token. He showed it to Ash and it said "Good for one free truth-full conversation". Ash read it and sighed. "I knew I'd regret making that one", he said annoyed. "Alright yes, I made a plan during this trip to try to get closer to Misty". After saying this, he walked to the couch, sat down, and put his face in his hands. Brock looked at him in thought.

"Those tokens were never originally for everyone were they?", Brock said, knowing the answer already.

"No, they weren't. They were originally for just Misty to use, but soon, I realized that other people here were having problems of their own, and since Misty's problem involved friendship", Ash stated, he was cut off.

"You decided that it would be best for her and the others having problems if we shared them...as friends", Brock finished. Ash nodded.

"But now it doesn't matter, I screwed it up", Ash said. Brock sat down next to Ash and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"But you didn't! You did everything perfectly!", Brock insisted. Ash looked at him.

"Then what happened? What went wrong that would have Misty act that way?", Ash asked. Brock thought for a moment.

"I'm not sure, but I think it's because she blames herself for everything", Brock said. Ash knew that she did, but wasn't sure how that had anything to do with it.

"What do you mean?", Ash asked confused.

"I think Misty thinks that it's her fault she left in the first place. Her not being with us, namely you, on our journeys and meeting new friends hurt her. But because she blames herself, she thinks that everyone else should move on because of the mistake that she made. And I think you trying to to get her to forgive herself is making the thoughts and memories more painful", Brock explained. Ash took all of this in. The idea that he was causing more pain than comfort bothered him.

"What do I do then?", Ash asked worried.

"For now nothing, let her relax. When she comes back you can talk to her and explin what you were trying to do", Brock suggested. Ash nodded and smiled.

"Alright...thanks Brock", Ash said. Brock nodded back.

"No problem", Brock said. Suddenly, there was a barrage of heavy knocks coming from the back door; by the driveway. Pikachu's ears perked up and he ran to the door. Ash and Brock stood up and followed. Gary, who was already in the Kitchen, reached the door first, Dawn right behind him. Gary opened the door to see the old man they had met at the store the day before; his Granbull at his side. He was gasping for breath.

"Hey, you're that hiker we met at the store", Ash recalled. Gary approached him.

"You look tired, do you need a rest?", Gary asked. The old man shrugged it off.

"There's no time for that now. I came down to warn you kids that there's a storm coming!", the old man said. Ash, Gary, and Brock gasped. Dawn looked at him with worry, but confusement.

"But shouldn't the houses around here be built to resist storms!", Dawn asked.

"Normally yes, but this is supposed to be the storm of the century. High winds, hard rain, lightning, you name it. The houses may not hold up too well against that", the old man warned. Ash gasped and turned around to the front door.

"Oh no! Misty!", Ash yelled. He then ran as fast as he could out the other way, Pikachu right behind him. Brock and Dawn looked back to him.

"ASH!", Brock yelled. But he was already gone.

"I'm gonna warn go warn the other residents in the area, you be sure to batin down the hatches! Come on Granbull!", the old man said. Granbull responded with a grunt and the two ran back outside. This left Brock, Gary, and Dawn alone.

"What do we so now!", Dawn asked. Brock looked at the ground in serious thought.

"...get ready", Brock answered. With this said, Gary made a full sprint for the stairs while Dawn ran to the basement. Brock stood there alone. Then he turned around and looked at the front door. "Bring her home soon Ash".

**FINALLY! ACTUAL SUSPENSE AND DANGER! Missed writing about that. Well what do you think? Alot for them to worry about now huh? "With the storm of the century fast approaching, will Ash be able to save Misty in time? Will the house be in danger? Could lives be lost? Find out next time in the thrilling installment of EVAN AAML'S "The Lake House"!". Well, you all know what to do, review and such. Don't forget about your costumes for Halloween now! Until, see you all later!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello and welcome back everyone! Sorry for the delay, I was actually going to update "The Alphabet Game: EVAN AAML Style" for Halloween, but things came up and I ended up spending it with friends I graduated with and a special someone, (smile). Anywho, I'll get right to the update, I'm sure you're all dying for it...well maybe not , since I haven't been getting any REVIEWS! (hint hint).**

**-EVAN AAML**

As Ash and Pikachu ran outside, many thoughts ran across Ash's head. The main one of course was "Where is Misty?". He ran out on the dock, Pikachu right behind him. The stomping of their feet made the dock shake slightly, the water rippling under them. As they reached the end of the dock, Ash looked around to see if he could see anything. Although the sun was missing behind clouds, the scene before him looked peaceful and bright. But Ash knew better, through his many travels he quickly learned of the calm before the storm. Just then the wind picked up. It was a refreshing cool breeze, but Ash knew there was more to come, and it wouldn't be pretty. As he and Pikachu looked across the lake, dead leaves from all of the surrounding trees seemed to circle them, some hitting them before they landed on the dock or in the water.

"Pikachu, where could she be?", Ash asked in a worried tone. Pikachu looked around as well, but to no avail.

"Pikachu", Pikachu said in a hushed tone. Ash stood there, not sure of exactly what to do next. He spaced out slightly, just taking all of the events thus far in. He couldn't believe that this trip would lead to danger. As Ash stood there, a lone leaf flew by Ash's face in a spinning fashion. For a reason even he didn't understand, Ash watched it as it slowly spiraled its way down and onto the dock. The tip of the leaf pointed out towards land. Ash looked to see that the exact destination it was pointing to was a large bare rock in the hills, a good distance away from the lake house. As Ash looked at the location, a sudden realization crossed his mind.

"Ergh! I'm so stupid! Come on Pikachu, I know where she is!", Ash said. He then made a full sprint off towards the location. Pikachu, unaware of what had just occurred, followed quickly in a curious manner. Ash had made it to the shed by the house and then saw the trail. He quickly ran up the hill leading towards it. As he did and began running into the woods, it began to rain. The wind howled and the trees seemed to bend and creak to its will. Ash looked up to feel the large raindrops that made it through the leaves on the trees pelt his face. They were not only large, but they stung. Pikachu scurried as fast as he could to keep up, his yellow coat of fur now covered with fresh patches of mud. The two ran, jumped, dodged, and bolted their way through the forest. After several minutes, Ash stopped temporarily to catch his breath. He ran for what seemed like forever, but he was not sure if he was any closer. He looked down at Pikachu, who was also panting heavily. His fur was now completely covered in mud, and he looked like a light brown Pikachu. "How about you let me carry you Pikachu?", Ash asked his companion. Pikachu looked up at him and shook his head.

"Pika, pikachupi", Pikachu said. It was as if he was saying that he will only slow him down. Ash nodded and looked ahead.

"Ok, I'm sure we're getting closer, let's go!", Ash said. He then began to run again. Pikachu took a little longer to catch his breath, but soon followed. Ash began to run up more hills and could feel that they were closer to the spot. Soon, he began to recognize the path and followed it quickly. After only a few more minutes, he reached a clearing and stopped. He caught his breath and stood there, the rain soaking through his jacket. Soon, Pikachu finally caught up with his trainer. He looked around and realized that they were at Ash and Misty's secret spot; the one they found on their first day there. Soon, Ash spotted the girl he was looking for. There Misty sat, on the edge of the rock. Her legs up against her chest, held by her arms. Her clothes clung to her, soaked to the bone. Although she was completely wet, Ash could tell she was still crying. "MISTY!", Ash yelled. Misty looked up, shocked to hear anything. She turned her head to see the brown eyed boy she had come to love, his companion sitting on the ground next to him.

"ASH! What are you doing here!", Misty asked. She stood up and Ash ran to her side.

"I came to get you! There's a big storm coming this way, this is just the beginning of it", Ash said. Misty looked at him for a moment and then layed her attention back to the lake.

"Don't bother, just leave me here, you get back to the house", Msity said. Ash looked at her dumbfounded.

Are you kidding! If you stay here then you could get washed away by the storm, you could die Misty!", Ash explained. Misty sat back down in her former position, her eyes not leaving the lake.

"That's the idea...just get washed away", Misty said. Ash gazed at her, unable to believe the words that had come out of her mouth. Now the wind's howls were so loud that it stung their ears. Pikachu propped himself in front of a large tree to prevent himself from being blown away. Ash looked to the ground.

"I...I know the truth", Ash said. Misty broke her trance with the lake and looked at Ash. "I know how you blame yourself for leaving us, and how you feel as if you should distance yourself as punishment". Misty's eyes widened. Ash walked over and sat beside her, their eyes fixated onto each other. "But you don't have to! I was never angry at you for leaving, none of us were! You had a task to perform, we all understood...I understood". Ash continued. Misty turned her gaze back to the lake, although Ash could tell by her eyes that she was in deep thought. But the thoughts were replaced by tears.

"That's not an excuse for what I did!", Misty decided.

"What? What do you", Ash said before being cut off.

"I ABANDONED YOU! I abandoned you, Brock, Pikachu, all of the Pokemon!...I abandoned you", Misty yelled. Tears were now streaming down her eyes, mixing in with the rain. In the distance, thunder could be heard, the storm was getting near. Ash turned his body so that he and Misty were aligned.

"Mist...it doesn't matter. You're here now, and I don't plan on letting you go again", Ash said sympathetically.

"How...how can you forgive me for what I've done so easily!", Misty asked. Ash smiled and took his hands into hers.

"Misty...life is short, break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile", Ash explained. Through it all, Misty could not help but smile. "Even though you left physically Misty, you never left spiritually. You were always there with us. We made new friends together, we never lost any of them, and all of those friends love you...I love you". Misty and Ash stared at each other intently yet passionately. The wind howled and Ash's hat blew off, only to be caught by Pikachu. Ash slowly released Misty's hands and wiped away the tears coming down Misty's eyes. Misty smiled, loving the feel of the touch. Slowly, Misty leaned her head towards Ash's, ignoring the ferocity of the storm. Ash did not move, but closed his eyes as Misty drew closer. Then, even with the storm brewing, Misty closed their separation with a kiss on the lips. They stood there, silent, not ruining the moment. As they continued the ever lasting kiss, Misty reached into the pocket of her shorts and pulled out a small object. She then placed it into Ash's hand. The kiss ended as Ash looked in his hand to see the Pewter token, with the words "Free for a Friend (no limit)" inscribed in it. Ash and Misty then looked at each other and smiled. Suddenly, thunder roared above them. They looked up to see the sky black, only visible by the lightning.

"Pika! Pikachu, pika!", Pikachu insisted.

"Right, let's get going, shall we?", Ash said. Misty nodded. They both quickly stood up and began to run towards Pikachu. Just as they reached him however, Ash realized something. He stopped, which in turn stopped Misty and Pikachu.

"What is it?", Misty asked.

"This, this seems familiar", Ash said. He stood there, trying to remember. Suddenly, he realized something. "Eh! My dream!". After saying this, the wind howled, causing a large dead tree to creak. The wind blew harder and harder on the tree until the once living roots snapped and the tree came falling down. Ash and Misty screamed. Suddenly, Pikachu jumped towards the tree, his cheeks sparking.

"PIKACHU!", Pikachu yelled. Lightning bolts then shot out of Pikachu, hitting the dead tree and making it explode. Ash and Misty flew back from the blast and landed on their backs, a few feet away from where the log would of landed. Ash and Misty sat up to see the many pieces of log scattered about, many of them smoking or even on fire.

"That should have been me!", Ash said shocked. He then immediately turned to see the spot where Misty was previously sitting. As soon as he did, a lightning bolt came down from the sky and blasted the rock. Ash and Misty covered themselves, unaware of what could happen. When it was all over, Ash and Misty looked up to see the large rock. On it was a big charred spot, still smoking from the blast. "And that should have been you", Ash stated. Misty looked at the spot, completely in shock. Had she been there for only a few moments longer and she would of been dead. They both soon stood up and looked back towards the direction of the lake house. "Come on, we have to get back before we get killed out here!". Misty and Pikachu nodded and soon, they made their way down the long, muddy, dangerous trail. As they made their way home, back at the lake house, everyone was waiting for their return. Most of the gang sat in the furniture, worried and nervous. Gary and Jessie remained standing, and Brock paced back and forth, once in awhile looking at the front door. Thunder cracked and everyone cringed. Brock stopped pacing and stomped his foot onto the bare wooden floor.

"That's it! I'm going out after them", Brock stated. Gary looked at him with shock.

"Are you kidding me!", Gary said. Brock shook his head.

"No, it's too dangerous out there, they should have been back by now. Something's up and I need to find them", Brock explained.

"But you won't be able to help if you're in danger too!", Gary said. After saying this, everyone in the room was silent. Everyone was thinking their own thoughts. May sat on the couch, beside Drew and Tracy. She looked ahead, not at anyone in particular, just thinking. No one seemed to notice her, and she didn't notice them. Suddenly, she stood up and looked at Brock and Gary.

"You're right, it is too dangerous for one person...I'm going with you", May said. Gary and Brock looked at her in a serious manner. Drew stood up quickly and grabbed her arm.

"What are you doing!", Drew asked. May turned to look at him.

"They're both my friends, I'm not gonna let them stay out there in danger knowing I could help them", May explained.

"But what if you get yourself hurt or even worse!", Drew said. May smiled.

"Well that's why Brock will be with me, we can watch each other's backs", May explained.

"Then I'm going too!", someone said. May, Drew, Brock, Gary, and the others all turned to see Dawn standing up. She was sitting in the chair, closest to the windows. "Having three people go is a good idea, we can help each other out", Dawn explained. Everyone looked at her for a while, not saying a word. The thunder continued to bang outside and rain pelted the windows so loud that it seemed as if people were throwing rocks at them. After a moment of silence, Brock stepped forward.

"I don't like the idea, it's bad enough to have one person go out there, having three out there, not knowing where we're going, it isn't a good plan", Brock said. Dawn shook her head.

"...I know where they are", Dawn explained. Everyone looked at her confused. "I...I was sort of spying on them when we got here, and as I did, I found a spot along the trails. The one me and Ash didn't want to go down on our hike. They wanted to keep it a secret to them, I didn't tell anyone and they didn't know I followed them...I think they're there". Brock looked down in deep thought, and then looked back up and nodded.

"Ok, us three will go, no more though. We can't endanger any more people", Brock said. Dawn and May nodded. Gary sighed with annoyance, but said nothing. May turned back to look at Drew, who was still holding her arm. She smiled at him and nodded. Drew looked at her for a moment and then nodded back. He released her. She then turned around and wrapped her arms around Drew.

"It's ok, I'll be fine. And when I come back, we can spend more time together", May said with a smile. Drew was worried about her well-being, but soon smiled. She then closed in and kissed him on the lips. Dawn grabbed her rain jacket and as she stepped forward, Max walked into her path. Dawn and Max looked at each other for a moment, not saying a word to each other. Soon though, Max stepped a little bit closer to Dawn.

"I'm not gonna try to make you not go, I think you wouldn't listen anyway", Max said. Dawn did not smile or laugh as she was so accustomed to, which did not surprise Max. "But I will say that you better come home safe...I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you". Dawn looked at the young boy. She was not sure exactly what to say. They were the youngest of the whole group, only in their mid teens. And yet here was Max, acting more mature than half the group there, and there she was, about to embark on what she felt was a suicide mission to help her friends. Perhaps it was her sense of adventure or lack of knowledge that made her think that, but she didn't care. She smiled slightly and put her hand on Max's shoulder.

"Don't worry. I will try my best to come back safe", Dawn stated. Max nodded. She then leaned forward and put her arms around Max. Normally this would make Max blush, but the moment was too serious for that, the happiness was gone. "And thank you...for caring". Brock then approached the gang. He also had on a jacket and handed May one for herself.

"Are we all set? Let's get going, we don't want to be out there any longer then we have to. we go to this spot, find Ash and Misty, and bring them back asap", Brock explained. The girls nodded. Everyone else just watched.

"And if they're not at this spot? What will you do then?", James asked. Brock looked at him.

"I'd prefer not to think about it", Brock said. He then stepped back and put his hand on the door knob. With a twist, he turned the handle. As he pulled on it slightly, the wind suddenly took over and pushed the door wide open. The rain and wind seemed to take over the house, curtains and papers blew around the inside. Everyone sitting down huddled over each other, as if they were going to be blown away. Brock quickly grabbed the girls and helped them get outside. As soon as they were, Brock stepped out and slammed the door as hard as he could. As soon as he did, the wind and rain disappeared, and silence was all around. The only noise around was the sound of things settling after the wind and rain. Everyone looked at the door. They all hoped that they would find Ash and Misty and bring them back soon. But in the back of their minds, they all feared something worse would happen. As they ran down the trail, Ash and Misty continued to look around, not sure of when something will be struck by lightning or fall over from the wind. They were running for awhile now, they felt that they were going in circles. In the darkness, there was no way to tell where you were. The only light came from the lighting above, and it didn't help any. Ash stopped by a large tree and grabbed onto Misty's arm, pulling her closer to him. Pikachu huddled by their feet. The tree supplied them with light cover from the rain and wind. All three of them panted heavily.

"Damn, I have no idea where we are", Ash said.

"I know, I can't tell the way to go back. I'm pretty sure we're on the right trail, but the weather makes us ten times slower", Misty stated. Ash then looked around, hoping to see something that would help them find their way, but nothing. Pikachu's ears suddenly perked and he looked up. Just as he did, a large tree branch fell from the top of the tree and crashed down right by their side. Ash, Misty, and Pikachu screamed in fear, thinking that it would hit them. The leafy end of the branch buried itself in the mud, while the broken sharp end pointed directly at Ash and Misty, only a few feet away. Ash sighed, and looked at Misty and Pikachu.

"We can't stay here, the only place we can go now is back home. It's too dangerous to stay in one place too long", Ash explained. He then grabbed Misty's hand and then began to run back down the trail, Pikachu right by their side. Meanwhile, May, Dawn, and Brock ran up the trail, using only a small hand held flashlight that Brock had brought along. They covered themselves because the wind attempted to blow away their jackets. Dawn was in the lead since she was the only one who knew the direction of the supposed secret hideaway.

"How much further is it to them Dawn!", May yelled, barely being louder than the storm. She used one of her arms to cover her face so that she would be able to see. Dawn looked back, still running forward.

"We still have a ways to go. If it weren't for this storm we would of been alot closer!", Dawn yelled back.

"Don't slow down, we can't sit still in this weather, we have to keep moving!", Brock yelled from the back, using the flashlight to direct which way they are moving. "AAAAAAASH! MISSSSSSTY! PIKACHUUUUUUU!", he yelled. May and Dawn joined in on the yelling. Further ahead, Ash, Misty, and Pikachu were still running down the trail. Occasionally one of them would slip on the mud or trip over debree from the storm. They had completely lost feeling in most of their body from the wet and cold. Pikachu was coated in more mud, he couldn't even use his electrical attacks anymore because the mud covered his red cheeks too much. Leaves, rain, dirt, and wind whipped at their faces and bodies as they continued to run, not stopping, not slowing down, and not looking back. Suddenly, Ash thought he heard something over the storm. He stopped, Misty and Pikachu stopping as well. He could barely make it out, but he had a feeling that something else out there was making noise other than the storm.

"What is it? Do you hear something?", Misty asked.

"Yeah...I don't know what, but I thought I heard something", Ash responded. He and Misty stood there, trying to make out anymore distinguishable noises. Pikachu moved his ears in this direction and that, trying to see if Ash had actually heard something. It was hard for him to tell between what was made by the storm and what wasn't. But suddenly, he heard something. He couldn't tell what it was, but it was definitely not the storm. Misty and Ash remained still, unable to pick up the same thing that Pikachu could. He continued to listen, there it was again. This time it sounded different. And then again. Pikachu looked to what he believed to be the direction of the noise.

"Do you know what it is Pikachu?", Ash asked. Pikachu looked up at him.

"Pika", Pikachu said. He then looked back to the same direction. Misty and Ash did the same. They stood there, in the middle of the storm, trying to see if this was help or only more danger. Ash's hoodie was blown this way and that and Misty's ponytail was only attached by a thread. Suddenly, they all saw a glimpse of light. At first they thought it was more lightning, but then they saw it again, and again. It was moving through the bushes and trees. Although it went away and back again, it was obvious to them that it wasn't lightning. Suddenly, Pikachu heard something, it was the same noises he heard before, only louder. Now he could make it out a little bit more. It was voices! Pikachu looked up to Ash and Misty.

"Pikapi! Pikachupi! Pikachu!", Pikachu said. Ash gasped and looked towards the flashing light. He then put his hands to his mouth and yelled.

"HEY! OVER HERE!", Ash yelled.

"Is it someone here to help!", Misty asked.

"I'm not sure, but Pikachu says they're people out there", Ash responded. Ash yelled again. Misty cupped her hands to her mouth and did the same.

"HELLO!", Misty yelled. The light seemed to be moving towards them at great speed. Pikachu jumped up onto Ash's shoulder and looked to see who it was. Soon, the voices were much louder.

"ASH! MISTY! PIKACHU!", the voices yelled. Ash and Misty jumped up and yelled back.

"OVER HERE!", Ash and Misty yelled. Through the dark the light moved closer and closer, until soon the light was in front of them. Ash, Misty, and Pikachu looked to see three bright colored jackets running towards them. The first colored jacket turned out to be Dawn, who smiled greatly upon seeing them.

"GUYS! HEY! WE FOUND THEM!", Dawn yelled behind her. Soon, May and Brock approached them as well.

"We found you!", Brock yelled, covering himself from the wind.

"Thank goodness!", May replied. Ash and Misty approached them closer.

"It's great to see you!", Misty responded.

"We have to get going, do you know the way back!", Ash asked. Brock nodded.

"Yeah, Dawn lead us here, I'm pretty sure we can find the path back", Brock stated. Although Ash and Misty were curious as to how Dawn could of lead them to their exact location, they felt it wasn't the time to ask questions. Lightning struck nearby, causing debree to fly all around them. They all screamed.

"COME ON!", Ash yelled. With that, all of them ran down towards what they hoped to be the lake house. As the gang quickly made their way home, back at the house everyone waited for their return. Team Rocket had decided to fix themselves some snacks, not too worried about their return. They figured that they had been through worse and could make it through this no problem. Tracy stood by the windows, looking out at the storm. It seemed to be at it's peak now and made so much noise that Tracy couldn't hear himself think, let alone anyone talking. Drew and Max sat in the chairs in the living room, nervously waiting for their friends to return. Gary was pacing just as Brock was not even half an hour ago. Occasionally he would look out the windows near the door and see if he could see them, but to no avail. Tracy looked back to Gary.

"The storm is at it's worst now I think, they better make it back soon", Tracy said.

"I know, usually the worst of the storm is the shortest, but considering how long this has lasted so far I wouldn't be surprised if this storm lasted until well into tomorrow", Gary responded. He looked out the windows again, but saw nothing.

"Do you think they at least found Ash, Misty, and Pikachu?", Tracy asked. Gary shrugged.

"Most likely, but I really don't know", Gary said. Drew suddenly stood up and began to walk around as well, but faster than Gary and with a more nervous reaction. Gary stopped pacing and looked at him, knowing that he was worried for May and the others. Max looked at the ground, lost in his thoughts. As Drew paced, he noticed Team Rocket shoveling food into their mouths, as if they didn't have a care in the world. Drew looked at them first in bewilderment, then annoyance, and finally he stopped in front of them and became angry.

"DON'T YOU FEEL THE LEAST BIT WORRIED ABOUT THEM! THEY ARE IN DANGER AND YOU LOOK LIKE YOU COULD CARE LESS!", Drew yelled. Team Rocket stopped eating for the moment and looked at the angry yet nervous teen. At first they didn't make any response to his yelling, but soon, they shrugged it off with a slight chuckle.

"Oh relax, they'll be back soon", Meowth said without the slightest bit of uncertainty.

"We've seen them through storms just like these and they've always found a way out of them, they're used to it", James replied. Drew looked uncertain at their words.

"They're right you know", a voice said. Drew turned around to see the voice coming from Max. His eyes did not leave the floor, but he was obviously listening to them. "I remember a few times while traveling that we had to go through storms like this one. They didn't always last this long, but they were still nasty. But we got through them no problem".

"You see, so just relax and everything will work out just fine", Jessie said. Her and Team Rocket then went back to eating. Drew was not sure exactly how to respond to their lack of concern, but at the same time, he felt more relived. He walked over to his chair and sat back down without a word. Gary looked out the window again, but nothing had changed. During this, the gang was still running back towards the house. Dawn was still in the head, but this time Brock was by her side using the flashlight to light their path. Ash was holding onto Misty's hand and pulling her along so that she wouldn't get left behind. Pikachu being so light was nearly blown away a few times and was holding onto Ash's hood for dear life.

"Do you think we're there yet!", May yelled to Brock and Dawn. Although she was righ behind them, they could barely hear her from the wind.

"I'm not sure!", Brock yelled back.

"We are! I recognize the path now, we should be by the shed soon!", Dawn yelled. The others sighed with relief. Lighting was striking above them, soon after Thunder banged, hurting their eardrums.

"The storm is worse now!", Ash yelled. After hearing this, Misty looked around briefly to see just how worse it looked compared to how it felt. Suddenly, as she did, she saw something.

"LOOK OUT!", Misty yelled. She then used the hand that Ash was holding onto to pull him and Pikachu away suddenly. Before they could react to the sudden tug, a small tree fell in their path. The crash of the tree caused everyone to fall in the mud. Dawn and Brock slid down a hill and landed in a bush. May fell just feet away from where the tree landed, her face now smeared with grass stains and dirt. Ash, Misty, and Pikachu also fell feet from the tree, but behind it. Ash looked at the tree with astonishment. It was a smaller one, but still alive. The wind was so powerful that it snapped it in half like a twig. He then looked at Misty, who was gasping for breath.

"Thanks!", Ash yelled. Misty smiled.

"Anytime!", Misty replied. Ash then looked around and noticed that someone was missing.

"Huh...PIKACHU!", Ash yelled. He then heard rustling from behind him. Both Ash and Misty turned to see Pikachu pop out of a bush. He spat out muddy leaves and then gave Misty a thumbs up. Misty giggled as Ash picked him up and placed him back onto his usual shoulder seat. Him and Misty then stood up. "ARE YOU GUYS OK!", Ash yelled. May stood up and looked at them.

"YEAH I'M FINE, JUST A CUT FROM ONE OF THE BRANCHES ON MY ARM, I'LL LIVE!", May responded. She then turned around to see that Dawn and Brock were no where to be seen. "WHERE ARE BROCK AND DAWN!". Ash jumped over the tree and stood beside May, looking for their friends. Misty was right behind him.

"BROOOOOOCK! DAWWWWWWWWN!", Ash yelled.

"DOWN THERE!", Misty yelled. May and Ash looked to see Dawn crawl out of the bushes beneath them. They had landed just off the trail. Ash, Misty, and May ran and May helped Dawn get out of the bushes. "ARE YOU ALRIGHT!", Misty asked.

"YES!", Dawn replied. To the other side of her, Brock stood up. He was holding his head.

"WHAT HAPPENED!", Ash asked.

"I HIT MY HEAD ON A ROCK HIDDEN IN THE BUSHES, I THINK IT'S BLEEDING", Brock replied. May took off her bandanna and gave it to Brock to use to cover the wound. He held it in his hands and held it onto the gash. "WE HAVE TO KEEP MOVING!". Just then, Dawn looked ahead of them and spotted something bright in the distance. She gazed at it more intently, covering her head so that water wouldn't get in her eyes. She wasn't sure exactly what this bright object was at first, but after looking at it more closely, she realized that it was a light. She gasped.

"I SEE THE HOUSE! THAT'S THE PORCH LIGHT!" Dawn yelled. She pointed directly in front of them. Everyone looked and could see the light. Brock pointed his flashlight towards it and they could make out the door through the trees.

"THAT'S IT!", Ash yelled. They then immediately ran towards the light. Meanwhile, Gary had started pacing again and was still looking out the windows every once in awhile. Team Rocket had stopped eating by now and simply waited for the others to return. Everyone else was still waiting for news of their arrival. Gary looked out the window again; but this time he thought he saw something. He moved the curtain more to see better and looked closely. Soon, he saw what appeared to be a light flickering in the distance. His heart skipped a beat at the sight.

"IT'S THEM!", Gary yelled. As soon as he yelled this, everyone jumped up and ran to the door. Gary quickly pulled it open. But as he did, it seemed like all of the forces of nature tried to make their way into the house. The wind blew all over, blowing off Tracy's bandanna and nearly throwing Meowth into the other room. He only remained there by holding onto James' leg. Gary and Drew ran outside to see where they were, but remained on the small porch. Max stayed by the open door and everyone else looked outside. They could all see the light moving quickly through the trees and over the hills. Gary and Drew waved their arms and began yelling to get their attention.

"OVER HERE!", Drew and Gary yelled. The light seemed to be getting closer and closer until soon, bodies were visible. Before they knew it, Ash, Misty, Brock, May, Dawn, and Pikachu were all in sight.

"WE MADE IT!", Ash and the others yelled. As the wind and rain pelted them, they began to run over the last remaining hill in their path. As soon as they reached the top of it, they stopped and waved at the others. Brock and May were still trailing slightly behind because of Brock's gash on his head. Dawn was in the lead and soon turned to the others.

"LET'S GO!", Dawn yelled. As soon as she yelled this, she turned around. Suddenly, a bright light came from the sky. A rouge lightning bolt came down and struck a large tree nearby the gang. They covered themselves as burning fragments flew all around. This large tree then began to lean forward and soon it came crashing down on top of the shed. The shed gave way like it was nothing compared to the sheer weight and size of the tree. Boards flew this way and that way. Ash and Misty had fallen down from the strike and were at the bottom of the hill, by Dawn's side. The wind roared with anger. Dawn looked down and was about to help Ash and Misty to their feet before she heard something.

"DAWWWWWN! LOOK OUUUUUUT!", someone yelled. She looked at the house and saw Max run out of the door and towards her. She wondered what he was worried about, but soon felt a sudden sense of fear. She turned around and looked in shock as a large tree branch came flying at her. She stood there in sheer terror and the branch flew into her and made her go flying. Max panicked and ran as fast as he could. Dawn flew forward and crashed into Max. The two of them flew a few more feet back before landing in the mud and water. Tracy, James, Jessie, and Meowth gasped.

"NOOO!", they all yelled. Jessie looked out at the horror before her. She saw Max and Dawn, lying in the mud, Max trying to move Dawn but unable to. May was still on top of the hill, helping her and Brock up after falling from the lightning. Drew and Gary ran forward, only to stop suddenly from more debree flying at them. Jessie was at first unsure of what to do, she did not want to endanger herself and she knew that this storm was going to get nasty. But as she watched the others, either hurt or trying to run, a glimmer appeared in her eyes. Before anyone else even realized it, Jessie ran out into the storm.

"JESSIE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!", James and Meowth yelled. She first ran to Dawn and Max, lifted them up, and threw them so hard that they flew straight towards the open door. Tracy moved in the way so that he would be able to catch them, but he did not anticipate the power of their thrust and soon he was sent flying into the other room, landing on the stairs with Dawn and Max on top of him. Jessie then made a full sprint towards Ash and Misty.

"HAS SHE LOST HER MIND!", James yelled. Meowth sweatdropped.

"Leave it ta Jessie to get Cabin Fever", Meowth said. Suddenly, Ash and Misty were thrown into the house. James and Meowth barely managed to get out of the way. Pikachu had released Ash from the throw and landed farther away, on top of Tracy. James and Meowth looked at the completely shocked Ash and Misty. Then suddenly May was thrown in, and then Brock. James and Meowth looked at the flying teenagers, then at themselves, and finally back outside. After doing so, Jessie flew in and side stepped out of the way. James and Meowth ran to her side as Gary and Drew quickly rushed in and slammed the door shut by throwing their bodies into it. For a moment, all was silent. Gary and Drew fell to the floor, their already wet bodies getting wetter from the rain that had entered from the open door. Everyone was gasping for breath. Ash, Misty, May, and Brock lifted themselves off of the ground and stood up shakily. Tracy lifted his head off of the step he was resting on and looked to see Pikachu right by his face.

"Uh, you alright there Pikachu?", Tracy asked. Pikachu's ears perked. He turned around on the spot and gave a smile to Tracy with a thumbs up.

"PIKA!", Pikachu said cheerfully. He then hopped off of Tracy, but remained on the stairs.

"What about you two?", Tracy asked referring to Dawn and Max. Max lifted his head. He was a little shaken up, but alright. His first thoughts though were on Dawn, he looked at her and gasped.

"DAWN!", Max yelled. Max quickly stood up, which allowed Tracy to be able to move enough to see the damage. Dawn was not moving and her eyes were closed. Her forehead was bleeding badly and it was trickling down her face and onto her shirt. "IS SHE...", before the hysterical Max could finish, Tracy had placed her hands under Dawn and gently lifted her up to be able to see better.

"No Max, she's unconscious. But we have to get her upstairs and patched up!", Tracy exclaimed. He then lifted her up completely and brought her upstairs, followed quickly by the worried Max. Pikachu looked at her with worry and then looked back at Ash. Ash saw this and nodded. Pikachu nodded back and he scampered up the stairs. Ash then brought his attention to Misty.

"How are you feeling?", Ash asked. Misty looked at him and smiled.

"I'm fine, just a little banged up", Misty responded.

"Thank god", Ash replied. He then hugged Misty, their wet bodies pressed against each other. Misty held onto Ash, glad to see that he too was alright. Brock soon stood up, still holding onto his head.

"Alright, I'm gonna quickly get this taken cared of, Gary, could you go upstairs and check on Dawn, she's the one in need of the most attention and I don't know exactly how much Tracy can do", Brock said. Gary quickly nodded and ran up the stairs, skipping steps along the way. Brock then made his way to the Kitchen. May stood there, worried for Brock and Dawn. Suddenly she felt a tinge of pain in her arm and covered it. Drew noticed this.

"Are you alright!", Drew asked worried. Dawn smiled through the pain.

"Yeah, just a small cut", May said.

"Well let me see", Drew commented back. He lifted May's hand and saw the blood spill slowly down her arm. "Are you sure this is nothing?". May smiled more.

"Of course, just a little cut. I just need to wash it out", May said. She then looked at the concerned Drew. "I told you I'd be fine!...but you know, I think it's cute when you're all concerned for me", May responded. Drew blushed slightly. As Ash and Misty stood up James and Meowth looked at Jessie. She was leaning against the wall, her face buried in her arms and her legs against her chest. She was shaking quite a bit.

"Uh, Jessie, are you alright?", James asked. There was no response.

"Maybe she got dat der pneumonia", Meowth responded. Suddenly Jessie began to make a noise. "Is she cryin!". The noise grew louder and louder until Jessie lifted her head. It turned out that the noise she was making was not crying, but laughter. James and Meowth stepped back in shock. Jessie suddenly shot up in excitement

"THAT...WAS...AMAZING! That was the most fun I've had all vacation! That's exactly what I needed to enjoy myself here! The rush! WOOHOO!", Jessie yelled. She then began to run around the house in excitement. James, Meowth, Ash, Misty, Drew, and May all sweatdropped.

"Well, at least she finally got to enjoy herself up here", James stated.

**FINALLY! SHEEZ! I had hoped that this chapter would of been shorter than my other ones, instead it became my longest one yet! I apologize for that, you see, although some of you may already know this, before I place my stories onto ; I always hand write them. This has been a habit of mine since "The Dare Game". I feel that it turns out better if I hand write it first and then read it and go over the mistakes, or make changes. But as you also know, I never actually got to finish this story exactly. From the exact point after Ash said "That should have been me!", from the tree falling down was the last bit of physically written work. The rest of this chapter was all in my head. Although I did obviously remember what I had intentionally thought out for the ending, so it wasn't like I was improvising the majority of this chapter. So if the ending seemed rushed, that's why. Hopefully you all enjoyed it none the less. "Now that the gang has made it back to the lake house, are they safe! Will Dawn actually be ok! Will these new romances last! Find out next time on EVAN AAML'S "The Lake House"!". And as a side note, happy Veteran's Day to you all, please remember all of those who have fought and even died for our country in all of the past wars. Be sure to thank a veteran when you see one! As for me, I will see you all later, be sure to review and such, I enjoy reading them!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm back for another installment of "The Lake House"! I would imagine at this point there will be 1-2, MAYBE 3 more chapters left of this story. After that, I hope to write my first sequel since my return, which will be for "Christmas"...just in TIME for Christmas I hope. Haven't thought it out too much yet, gonna have to do that soon! But I digress, let's get on with this now shall we? This chapter is dedicated to the memory of Jenni-Lyn Watson, a young girl and close to home New Yorker who was taken from us at a young age. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.**

**-EVAN AAML**

As the hours passed, it seemed as if everything was calm once again. The wind and rain had not stopped, but did slow down considerably; making it barely noticeable. Brock remained in the bathroom for some time to stop the bleeding from his head and cover it up with bandages. May's cut was already patched up, but it was slowly bleeding through the bandages. Because of Dawn's condition, everyone remained somber, waiting for news from those watching over her. Every once in awhile someone would go upstairs and wait outside the master bedroom, where she was being taken cared of. Downstairs, those who were not being tended to where simply sitting by, waiting for the news. Ash and Misty sat on the love seat while Team Rocket sat on the bigger couch. May and Drew each sat on a chair. The only noise that could be heard was the rain and the ticking of a clock in the room. Misty leaned back on the couch and sighed.

"You know, I sort of feel guilty over all of this", Misty said. May and Drew looked at her confused while Ash nodded.

"I know what you mean, if it weren't for us, no one would of gotten hurt", Ash stated. May sat up a bit and shook her head.

"No way. If we were worried about getting hurt, we wouldn't have gone out to find you. We knew what we were getting into, none of this is your fault", May replied. Ash and Misty looked at her. Ash sort of smiled.

"Thanks for trying to make us feel better, but I don't think it's gonna be that easy. Once we find out Dawn's condition, we may be at ease", Ash explained. May nodded. She then stood up.

"You're right. I'm gonna go upstairs and wait for her", May decided. She walked by, gave Drew a small kiss on the forehead, and then made her way up the stairs. Everyone else remained quiet for a while. The rain seemed to get quieter and quieter. Soon, it couldn't be heard at all. Drew looked out the windows and could finally see light. He slowly stood up and walked to the front door. He put his hand on the handle and took a deep breath, prepared for anything. He turned the knob and opened the door. The sound of water dripping off of the roof and birds finally coming out of hiding could be heard. Drew looked around, the lake was completely still, no wind what so ever. The sun was out, but was already beginning to set, it was late in the day. The once built shed was still in pieces, the majority of it under the fallen tree. Mud was everywhere and some signs of what had happened only hours ago were still there. Drew took one final look around before closing the door. He turned to the others.

"Well finally the storm stopped. It looks like hell out there, but it's quiet at least", Drew said. Everyone nodded. Just then, Brock walked into the room. His head was covered in white bandages. He looked tired but better.

"How is everyone?", Brock asked. They all replied with "well" or "fine".

"How about you?", Ash asked. Brock felt the place on the back of his head where he was cut open.

"I tried my best to patch it up considering I'm not at a hospital. I'll see a doctor when we go home, but I don't know if I'll need stitches just yet", Brock replied. He then looked forward and could see the change of the weather from the large lake-front windows. "I see the storm finally let up".

"Yeah, everything's quiet now", Drew replied. Brock walked past the gang and to the windows. He looked outside and saw everything.

"What a trip this has turned out to be. I never would of thought that a little vacation for all of us would turn into such action. Hehe, I was sort of looking forward to a break from all of this; foolish of me to think that going here would make me relax", Brock joked. The others sort of smiled.

"Yeah right? I thought for sure that after I invited everyone that we would all have a great weekend together, nothing but fun in the sun and a break from all of the training", Ash said.

"I guess...we're just not lucky with that, we're always in some sort of danger or adventure, we just can't live quiet lives", Misty continued. Drew nodded.

"Mine was nice and quiet until I met you all. Now no matter where I go or what I do something's always happening", Drew commented with his usual cocky attitude. Ash thought for a moment, looking down at the ground as he did so. No one seemed to notice until he spoke up.

"Maybe...we'll never get to live quiet, relaxing lives...we'll never get to experience that "settling down" kind of lifestyle", Ash said. Brock turned away from the windows and looked at him, as did everyone else. No one was exactly sure if he meant this in a good way or not, most of them weren't sure how to comment back to him. Misty put her hand on Ash's shoulder and gave a smile.

"Don't worry, we live exciting lives now, but sooner or later our minds and bodies will just need to catch a breather, we'll all be able to settle down eventually. Maybe even all together as the big family that we are...but for now, we'll just live our lives the way we're used to", Misty explained. Ash looked at her, her eyes penetrating him as they always did. He was glad that Misty was finally cheery and hopeful. He smiled and nodded.

"You're right", Ash replied. After saying this, noises could be heard from upstairs. It sounded like talking. Everyone looked up to see Tracy coming down the steps, followed by May. Tracy noticed Brock and smiled.

"Oh good, you're moving. I came down here to get you, we may need your help", Tracy said. Everyone stood up in worry.

"How's Dawn doing?", Misty asked. Tracy looked at the others.

"Well...she's still unconscious. The bleeding finally stopped thanks to Gary. I only know so much about medical stuff, and Gary is limited to mostly Pokemon. So I was hoping that Brock would be able to check on her, he's the closest thing we've got to a doctor here", Tracy explained. Brock nodded. Tracy then made his way back up the stairs, followed closely by Brock. May stayed downstairs this time, but looked up to see them leave. When they were out of sight, May stepped down the final steps and joined the others.

"So how is she?", Drew asked. May looked up from the floor to meet his eyes.

"I only got a small glimpse of her from the room. She looked a little bit better, but like Tracy said, she hasn't woken up yet. But Gary was working on her head", May explained. She then sat back down on her original chair. "Max is completely distraught, he can barely sit down, poor guy". A few moments later, hoping could be heard coming down the stairs. Pikachu had finally come down. He was clean now, most likely from one of the guys upstairs giving him a bath. "Oh yeah, and Gary gave Pikachu a potion, while he worked on Dawn, Tracy cleaned him up", May explained. Pikachu ran over and jumped onto Ash's lap.

"Well that's great to hear, how you feeling buddy?", Ash asked. Pikachu looked up at him and smiled.

"Pikachu!", Pikachu said cheerfully. Ash smiled and gave him a pat on the head.

"Well I guess now the only person we have to worry about is Dawn", Ash said. He then looked up to the stairs. He was worried for his newest friend. The only thing that ran through his head was himself imagining telling Dawn's mother about what happened. The idea worried him, he couldn't bare to see someone's mom crying over something like this happening to their child. He already knew what it was like from his mom. He also thought about Dawn's dreams of being a top coordinator, and how this could affect them. He made a little prayer to himself for Dawn's sake. Minutes passed, although it felt like hours. Time seemed to slow down. Team Rocket had fallen asleep on the couch, their energy gone entirely. Drew had gone to the kitchen to get a snack for himself and the others. May, Misty, and Ash remained silent, waiting for the moment when someone would come downstairs and inform them on Dawn's status. After the long wait, Pikachu's ears perked up and he looked towards the stairs. The sound of a door opening and closing could be heard. Soon after, someone began to walk downstairs. May, Ash, and Misty stood up and prepared for the person to come down. They all stared at the flight of stairs, not moving an inch. Brock stepped down and looked at the gang with a serious face. Ash grew worried as Misty and May looked about to cry. Suddenly, Brock smiled and gave a thumbs up.

"She'll be just fine!", Brock said. Everyone sighed in relief. Drew ran out of the Kitchen and into the t.v. room with the others.

"Did I hear someone say Dawn will be fine!", Drew asked. This woke up Team Rocket, who stretched and rubbed the tired out of their eyes.

"Yes!", Misty said relieved. Team Rocket cheered as Drew smiled.

"Yeah, she's very weak and will need alot of rest, but luckily the bleeding stopped and we bandaged her up. Gary and Tracy are just cleaning up now. May, could I ask you a favor?", Brock asked. May nodded. Brock then leaned in and whispered into her ear, May listened carefully. When Brock was done, he stepped back and May nodded. She then ran up the stairs. As she ran up, Gary and Tracy came down, followed by a tired yet relieved Max.

"Glad to see that she's doing better", Gary said to Tracy. He nodded with a smile. As they stepped downstairs and joined the group, Drew walked over towards the windows, bringing Max along with him. While Drew casually looked out the large glass frames separating them from the outside, Max looked at him, wondering why he had taken him there. The others talked to Brock, Gary, and Tracy as Drew whispered to Max.

"You know...it was really brave of you to go out and try to help Dawn like you did", Drew said. Max continued to stare, sort of confused as to why he was saying this. He then looked down in disappointment.

"Not really...she still got hurt. I didn't help her at all", Max said. Drew shook his head.

"Listen, there was nothing you could of done to stop the branch from hitting her. You did everything you could do and more...I know how much you care for her, and what you did out there, risking your life to save hers...that takes spirit, guts...but most importantly...it takes heart", Drew explained. He then looked down at Max, who was stunned at the words. It was not that Max did not expect them from someone, but what shocked them was the words coming from Drew. He always knew him as a egotistical person; did his sister help him this much? Drew put his hand on Max's shoulder. "Unfortunately, she may not immediately remember what you did. But I know deep down that soon, she'll realize what you did for her, and she will be forever thankful". Max smiled. He nodded and Drew gave him a pat on the back. Max then turned around. He was about to head into the other room, but stopped short. He looked back slightly at Drew.

"You know, I think it's good that we're bonding like this, cause you know, odds are, you're gonna be my future brother in law", Max said. Drew immediately collapsed with a sweatdrop. As everyone talked and were glad that their friend was alright, Ash looked on with a smile. He was happy that they were all enjoying themselves despite all that has happened today. It showed that no matter what they went through, they would always remain friends. Then a thought popped into his head, he realized that this was their last night together at the lake house. Tomorrow, they would head back to Pallet Town and then everyone would go on their way. The idea of everything they had done together ending with all of them saying goodbye saddened him. He did not want to have everyone leave, at least not without making this the time of their lives. So with this in mind, he walked over to Brock.

"Hey Brock, I think we should have another bon-fire", Ash said. Brock looked at him stunned for a moment.

"What?", Brock said. Ash nodded.

"Today is our last night here, we need to make the most of it", Ash explained.

"Well yeah, but the storm ruined alot outside, odds are the firewood is all wet. Besides, look at us, half of us are hurt and Dawn is still resting", Brock said. Ash was determine though to do this.

"Listen, after tonight we won't be together nearly as much or as long. I want this to be one of our best nights together, and this might be our last chance to do just that...please Brock", Ash pleaded. Brock looked at the trainer and wasn't sure how to respond. He saw his pleading eyes and simply could not resist; he gave in.

"(sigh), alright, we'll do it. Tell the others", Brock said. Ash smiled and nodded. He then left to tell the others, leaving Brock to sort of laugh at himself. He knew he wouldn't be able to say no to Ash, he had a way of doing things to get his way. As Ash told the others of his plan, May remained upstairs in the spare bedroom, helping Dawn. Because there were only boys helping her back to health Brock felt that a girl was needed; especially to help Dawn change out of her bloody clothes. After she had done this she had checked to see if Dawn's chest and stomach were hurting. May didn't know the exact medical procedure to check for broken ribs, but tried her best. She poked certain spots on her very slightly to see if she responded. She poked her first rib, nothing, second, nothing. But as she pressed her third rib, Dawn suddenly shot up and screamed in pain. May jumped back in fright as Dawn held her ribs.

"Oh my god, Dawn, are you ok! I'm so sorry!", May said worried. Dawn looked at her and smiled through her pained look.

"It's alright May, you were trying to help. And I think I over-reacted. I was just scared that someone was touching me", Dawn explained. May nodded in understanding. She then moved closer to Dawn.

"How's your chest then?", May asked. Dawn looked down to it.

"I don't think it's broken, but it is bruised pretty badly, as you just saw", Dawn joked. May giggled slightly. "Thank you by the way...for helping me change out of my clothes, I'm glad that it wasn't one of the guys, that would of been a little embarrassing".

"Yeah, Brock felt so too, so he asked me to help", May explained. Dawn sat up more to better position herself. She was not completely changed, but her chest and stomach was bandaged by May. She looked over and saw her hat on the side of the bed next to the jacket she was wearing outside. She picked it up and placed it on her head, not used to not having it on. "But in general, how do you feel?", May asked. Dawn looked at her.

"Well, I still feel a little tired and weak. My chest hurts a bit, and my head is throbbing, but other than that I feel fine", Dawn explained. There was a moment of silence as May sat up and picked up Dawn's bloody clothes. "How is Max?", Dawn asked suddenly. May stopped picking up the clothes and looked at her. Dawn seemed to be a little nervous at asking the question, but wanted to know. May smiled, she knew why.

"He's doing better now that you're doing better", May replied. Dawn nodded and looked to the side. May placed the clothes down in a pile and sat back down on the bed, next to Dawn. Dawn looked down to not make eye contact with her. "You know, he was really worried about you. He spent the whole time in here waiting for you to get better. He couldn't relax at all". Dawn smiled, but kept her eye contact onto the bed.

"I know. I mean, I don't remember much during the storm, but I remember before we went out there...your brother was telling me to be careful. I don't know if my memory of the accident will come back to me, but I just know he was out there trying to save me", Dawn said. She finally managed to look up and make eye contact with May. They both smiled. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Dawn gasped and quickly hid under the covers as May quickly ran to the door. Just as the door began to open, May ran into it and shut it close.

"Woah! May, what are you doing!", a voice called out from the other side of the door. It was Ash. May remained pressed against the door.

"Dawn's...not uh, decent", May said. Dawn blushed and hid her face under the covers.

"Oh! Dawn's awake, that's great! Listen, we're all going outside to have a bon-fire, so let's go! We want you down there!", Ash yelled from the other side of the door. May looked at Dawn, who was still hiding under the sheets. She wasn't sure how to respond to Ash exactly.

"Uh...ok, I'll be down in a minute", May said. The sounds of footsteps could be heard as Ash went downstairs. She watched as Dawn lifted the covers and poked her head out, looking at May. They stared at each other for a moment, not making any noises until May responded. "So, can you come?".

"I...I don't think so. I'm too tired. I'm just going to...rest here until tomorrow. I'll pack in the morning", Dawn said. She then layed down, her face turned away from May. May sighed and opened the door. Before she left, she looked over at Dawn.

"Dawn...Ash didn't ask you to come because he doesn't want you hurting yourself. We all care for you, we accept you. None of us here would reject you because you're the "new girl". If it weren't for you, we would never have found Ash, Misty, and Pikachu. We all owe you our gratitude...as friends", May said. Dawn did not respond. May sighed again and left the room, closing the door behind her. Dawn remained silent, but a lone tear came down her face. But this tear was not one of sadness, but of joy. Dawn smiled. Within a few short minutes, everyone was prepared and ready to go outside. Since Ash was the one that wanted to do this last little hoorah together, he felt it was his obligation to get the firewood. Luckily, the firewood that the contest people supplied them was not all entirely wet. So he gathered as much as he could and began to build the fire. Although the wood was dry, the pit the fire was in was not, so it took some time before the fire started. Misty volunteered to dry off the chairs and with Team Rocket's help, she got it done fast. Soon, most everyone was down by the campfire, ready for their last night together. Gary had grabbed the last of the drinks from the basement and brought them out by the fire. Everyone had grabbed one and were enjoying the time together. As they talked and laughed, James looked around.

"Huh, are we missing some people?", James asked. Meowth too looked.

"Yeah, but who?", Meowth asked.

"Brock is getting his guitar", Tracy stated.

"You mean Brock _got _his guitar", someone said. Tracy and the others turned around to see Brock coming towards them, his guitar swung around his arm. The others said hi as Gary handed him a beer.

"So what song do you have for us tonight Brock?", Misty asked. Brock chuckled.

"Well I have a nice little song to help us sum up the _good _parts of this trip", Brock explained. The others laughed. Brock strummed a little bit on the guitar, but not singing.

"Wait...what about Dawn, isn't she gonna come?", Jessie asked. This sudden question silenced Brock and the others as well. Max looked down at the ground in sadness.

"She's still resting. She can't really do anything just yet", May explained. Ash looked down to the ground, his beer in hand.

"Gee, I hope she gets better soon. I feel bad now because I didn't specifically ask her to come down with us. I was afraid that she would hurt herself trying to. Wish she could be here", Ash told the others. He lifted his beer and took a sip.

"Well thanks, wish I could join you all", someone spoke up from behind. Ash spat out the drink that had entered his mouth in shock. Everyone turned around to see the owner of the voice. The darkness hid the body for the most part, but the dancing flames just managed to lite Dawn's face. Max stood up in joy and shock.

"DAWN!", Max yelled. Dawn smiled. She was dressed in new clothes, but they looked like her normal travel attire. The bandages on her head were mostly covered by her hat. May stood up.

"Are you ok? Can you manage?", May asked worried for her friend. Dawn looked at her.

"Well, I managed to come down the stairs and outside by myself", Dawn explained. May sweatdropped in embarrassment but giggled. "Would...would you mind if I joined you all? I mean, I don't want to be a bother". Ash smiled and patted a log right next to him.

"We saved a spot just for you in case you came down", Ash said with a smile. Dawn smiled back. Slowly, she made her way to the log, right in the middle of everyone. She was holding her stomach and chest area with one arm, but made her way there without any problems. Sitting next to her was Max, who smiled at her appearance. Dawn sat down and smiled back to him. Suddenly, she felt a poke on her shoulder and turned around. A soda can was being handed to her by Ash. She took it, and then looked back at Ash, who smiled.

"Welcome to the family", Ash stated. He then gave Dawn a pat on the shoulder. Dawn looked on at her newest family, all of them smiling at her. She smiled back, her eyes glistening in happiness. She finally felt accepted. With everyone there, Ash stood up and held out his drink. "I want to propose a toast. To family and friends. We may be far away at times, and at other times we may go through some tough times. But we should always know that through thick and thin, we are always there for each other. And I wish us all happiness and togetherness in our futures!", Ash stated. Everyone held up their drinks and smiled

"TO FAMILY AND FRIENDS!", they all yelled. As they drunk to their toast, Brock swung his guitar over in playing position.

"Well then, shall I begin?", Brock asked. The others cheered and yelled yes. Brock got into playing position and then looked at the gang. "This song is dedicated to those who fell in love during this little trip of ours, I know those feelings you all got are a bit new to you, but you'll get used to them soon enough". Ash and Misty blushed and Dawn and Max looked at each other momentarily before looking away quickly. May held onto Drew with a smile.

"Well, not for me", Drew joked. May playfuly punched him and the others laughed.

"Well this song is for those going through their first time, in love", Brock stated. He then began to strum the strings on the guitar and the others cheered.

_"We're both looking for something, we've been afraid to find/ it's easier to be broken, it's easier to hide/ Looking at you, holding my breath, for once in my life, I'm scared to death, I'm taking a chance, letting you inside"_. Brock sung. He then began to hit the chords harder and faster and the others cheered.

_"Feeling alive all over again, as deep as the sky, under my skin like being in love, she says for the first time/ Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm feeling right where I belong with you tonight, like being in love, to feel for the first time"_. Ash and Misty held onto each other's hands and smiled. May and Drew embraced in a hug. Brock's strumming slowed down, but only slightly.

_The world that I see inside you, waiting to come to life/ Waking me up to dreaming, reality in your eyes/ Looking at you, holding my breath, for once in my life, I'm scared to death, I'm taking a chance, letting you inside"_. The beat of the song went faster yet again and the others screamed in excitement.

_"I'm feeling alive, all over again, as deep as the sky, under my skin like being in love, she says for the first time/ Maybe I'm wrong, I'm feeling right where I belong with you tonight, like being in love, to feel for the first time"_. Brock stood up as he began to play the song. The others cheered him on. Ash and Misty held onto each other now in a tight embrace; May and Drew were in each others arms. Dawn and Max scooted closer to each other, but remained separate. Brock started up again.

_"We're crashing, into the unknown/ We're lost in this, but it feels like home"_. Brock yelled. He hit a chord on his guitar and left it for a moment, the others clapped along to the beat. He then began again.

_"I'm feeling alive all over again, as deep as the sky, under my skin like being in love, she says for the first time"_. Misty and Ash held onto each other and kissed passionately

_Maybe I'm wrong, I'm feeling right where I belong with you tonight, like being in love, to feel for the first time"_. May and Drew kissed passionately.

_"Like being in love, she says for the first time_", the others cheered and sang along as the young loves kissed and lived the moment. _"Like being in love, to feel for the first time!"_. Brock then strung the chords one final time as the noise penetrated the gang. Slowly, he brought his hand up along the neck of the guitar, changing the tune of the noise until he finally gripped the end of the guitar neck with both hands, ending the noise. Everyone stood up and cheered for Brock as he held his guitar out and bowed to them. Gary walked up to him and gave him a pat on the shoulder, Tracy stood up on his other side.

"Wow, you did a amazing job there Brock!", Gary said. Tracy handed Brock his beer, which he accepted.

"Well thanks, I felt this one was a little more romantic for the occasion", Brock explained.

"Yeah, you're telling me", Tracy said. Brock and Gary looked at Tracy, who's eyes were fixated on the others. Brock and Gary looked to see Ash and Misty slowly kissing each other while May and Drew were in a all out make out session. Max and Dawn were still not touching each other, but were occasionally glancing over while the other one wasn't looking and blushing. Jessie and James were drinking and holding onto each other. Meowth and Pikachu stood away from the others, near Brock, Tracy, and Gary. The boys all looked at the couples, then at themselves. Suddenly, they all burst out laughing. This was a moment they would never forget, and always cherish.

**A beautiful ending to a beautiful chapter if I do say so myself. Once again, I don't own the rights to "First Time", Lifehouse, or etc. But unlike "All Summer Long", this one I didn't need to edit to fir the story, it did so on it's own! I know this chapter was a bit shorter than the previous few, but I wanted to end it on the song, so I did. I'm thinking that the next chapter will be the last one, if I can't fit it all in, then I will simply make the chapter longer. 10 chapters sounds like a good length to me. For those of you who are wondering, I choose these two songs because for one thing, at the time I was writing this story, they were both popular, (yes, it has been THAT long since I've started working on this). But mostly, because they both fit in so well to the story, particularly at the times I placed them in it. And on a side note, I realized not to long ago that this month marks the 4th year anniversary of EVAN AAML, (I missed the exact date, which I believe was the 5th). Wow, 4 years of writing AAML stories to you all, it feels like only yesterday that I started, what a accomplishment. As a favor, I would like to ask you all what was your favorite moment with me, (or more appropriately, what was your favorite story of mine). I know this sounds selfish, and I'm sorry, I'm just curious, and I feel that it fits the moment. I thank you all for standing by me these 4 long years, you have all done so much to make me the author I am today. "With their final day together coming soon, will this be the end of Ash and the gang as we know it? Find out next time on the final chapter of EVAN AAML'S "The Lake House"!". Thank you all for bearing with me these last 4 years, I appreciate it. Rest in peace Jenni-Lyn Watson. And goodnight everyone!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey everyone, are you all ready for my final chapter! As a heads up, I will be (hopefully) writing my sequel to "Christmas" this month, I want it to end by Christmas, good luck with that happening. I apologize if this chapter and my next story seemed rushed, you see, I am dealing with ALOT of serious problems back home. Now these aren't family related, I'm not being threatened or anything. It's just alot of stress from college and issues I am having. I have been getting a lack of sleep and more sick. Stress is a killer. As such, I don't want these stories to suffer because of it. So I'll only be able to update when I'm not dealing with these issues. A happy mind means good writing. And I also want to wish you all a happy holidays. I find this month to be the happiest for me, the family togetherness and such. And with the issues I have been having, I think it will actually help me. I hate the whole idea of Christmas being "commercial", I try to make it about the giving rather than the receiving, and the family togetherness rather than the stress, consider me old fashioned that way. Ah, I'm rambling, my apologies, let's get started with the end shall we?**

**-EVAN AAML**

As the night came to it's end the sun rose over the horizon. The glistening rays made the wet grass and leaves sparkle in the light. The last of the water on land began to evaporate away. Now the early morning Pokemon were making their way around; as if nothing had happened at all last night. Bird Pokemon flew overhead as the forest Pokemon began to scavenge for food. Near the forest were the remains of the lake house shed. The pieces still remained where they landed from the crash, scattered here and there. Many of the items inside were broken, but still visible from under the debree and large tree. Towards the front of the house was a pile of the charred remains from last night's fire. The chairs and seats were put away, but their impressions in the grass remained. Yes, all was relatively quiet outside, inside however was a different story. Although it was still early in the morning, like seven o'clock, everyone was moving or at least awake. Today was their last day at the lake house. The pamphlet never specified when exactly their time in the house ended, but they felt it best to get out early and save the trouble. Inside, everyone was packing and those who weren't packing were doing their normal morning routines. As they all ran about gathering their things or cleaning up after themselves, Ash walked by the Kitchen to see Brock on the phone. Ash was on his way to the basement, but stopped to see what Brock was talking about.

"Uh huh...yeah, right. Ok, thank you, I appreciate that. Goodbye", Brock said. He then hung up and looked at Ash. "Those were the people who ran the contest and constructed this place. I called them up to tell them about the storm damages. Although the shed is their prime concern, they said that none of this was our fault and that we won't be billed or anything. They'll come down later today or tomorrow when we're gone to fix it up".

"That's great to hear!", Ash said. Brock and Ash then stood there and simply looked around the house. Although they could only see so much from the Kitchen, they felt that they were seeing it all. Brock took in a deep breath and Ash smiled.

"You know, I'm gonna really miss this place. Even though it wasn't our house, it felt like it was", Brock said. Ash nodded. "We did so much here, it's a shame that this won't be a place to come back to to either remember the old memories or create new ones".

"Yeah...", Ash replied.

"Well, I guess I should pack, see ya", Brock said. He gave Ash a pat on the back and then walked towards the laundry room; leaving the trainer all alone in the Kitchen. He simply stood there for a moment, in deep thought. Although people walked by, no one seemed to give him any attention. After thinking something over for awhile, Ash looked around, picked up the phone, and took it outside, away from everyone else. Meanwhile, in the basement, James, Meowth, Brock, Tracy, and Drew were packing up their things. Gary had already done his packing, but Max's remained untouched on the bed. As they rolled up their sleeping bags and put away their items, they all thought to themselves the wonderful moments they had there together.

"You know, we had alot of fun down here", James said to no one in particular. The others nodded.

"Yep, alot of great times", Brock replied. Drew scoffed.

"Please, like you guys can remember anything you did down here, you were all drunk out of your minds!", Drew said. James, Meowth, Tracy, and Brock laughed.

"Hey, what about Max's stuff? Why isn't he packing?", Tracy asked looking on the top bunk.

"Eh, he said something about helpin da newbie pack", Meowth explained. Drew smiled to himself upon hearing this, he figured as much. Meanwhile, back upstairs in the attic, all of the girls were putting their things away. Because of their quantities, they took longer to get their stuff done. Dawn was going particularly slow because she still ached from last night. Misty, who noticed this, walked up to her, her sleeping bag in hand.

"How are you feeling Dawn?", Misty asked. Dawn looked up to her from the floor as she rolled up her sleeping bag.

"I'm feeling better than last night, but the aches are just slowing me down. I'll be fine...thanks for asking", Dawn said. Misty nodded with a smile. May folded up her sheets and blankets, sighed, and then looked out towards the small window of the attic.

"Hmm...I'm sure gonna miss being here. It felt like a home away from home, you know?", May said. The girls all doze off, remembering their moments there as well.

"Yeah...you know, I'd never think I would admit this normally...but I had a great time with you twerps, uh, I mean, kids", Jessie said. The other three girls looked at her, slightly stunned. Jessie looked at them, and to their disbelief, gave them a genuine, honest smile; albeit a small one. The other girls smiled back.

"Thanks Jessie, we had a great time with you too!", Misty said. Suddenly, they heard steps coming from the spiral staircase. Whoever was approaching them took careful steps, as the clanging on the metal was light. Soon, Max popped into view, carrying with him tons of girly equipment you would normally see in a bathroom; including a few curling irons, make up, some bags of utensils, and hair spray.

"Here's all of the stuff from the bathroom downstairs", Max said. Dawn looked at him and smiled.

"Thanks again so much for helping Max, but you know you don't have to", Dawn stated. Max lowered himself to place the items on the floor and looked up at Dawn.

"It's no problem at all, glad I could help you...ergh, I mean, _all _of you", Max corrected. He then stood up and approached Dawn. "So uh, how...how you feeling?". Dawn smiled.

"Alot better, thanks for asking", Dawn said. The two of them stared at each other for a few moments, not taking their eyes off of each other or even moving. They were lost on each other's gaze until Max shook out of it, slightly blushing.

"Uh, I guess I should go down to the basement and gather my things huh?", Max said. Dawn too shook out of it and nodded with a giggle.

"I guess so", Dawn replied. Max then walked away, waving goodbye as he went down the metal spiral staircase. Dawn went back to the floor to put things into her bag, with a smile and blush on her face. Unbeknownst to her though, the other girls all noticed this. May and Misty looked at each other with a smile as Jessie sort of scoffed to herself over the thought of "young love". As Max made it to the bottom of the stairs, he looked into the entertainment room and noticed Pikachu; siting on top of the pool table. He was arranging the billiards balls and triangle perfectly. Because he had nothing to pack himself, Pikachu took it upon himself to make the house look like it did when they first visited. As Pikachu centered the triangle perfectly, Max walked up to the pool table.

"Hey buddy, wanna help me pack!", Max asked. Pikachu looked up at him and smiled.

"Piiika!", Pikachu said happily with a thumbs up. he then scurried over and ran up Max's arm to sit on his shoulder. Max then lead him out of the room. And so the hour passed, everyone had their things gathered up and were prepared to have them packed into the car. Team Rocket of course could not come along with them home, but they didn't mind. Unbeknownst to the rest of the gang, they kept their hot air balloon on the opposite side of the house, in a small clearing they had found upon arrival. Luckily for them, because they deflated the balloon when they got there, it was undamaged from the storm. They prepped it and filled it with their baggage. Before long, most everyone was done packing. While everyone was downstairs finishing, Ash was upstairs, on the porch connected to the master bedroom. He leaned against the rail, Pikachu sitting on it to his right. There he stood, watching the lake and everything around it. Pikachu did the same without talking, he knew that this one of Ash's rare deep thought moments. Suddenly, they heard the noise of a door opening. Pikachu turned around to see Misty open the door to the porch and come onto the wooden structure with them. Ash did glance over, but only barely. Misty walked over and stood by Ash's left. She looked at the lake for a moment, not saying a word as she did so for a moment or two. But soon, she broke the silence.

"What's on your mind Ash?", Misty asked. Ash did not look Misty's way, but kept his attention to the waters ahead of him.

"Alot", Ash said with a smirk. Misty giggled, as did Pikachu. Ash looked at Misty with a smile. "I was just recollecting all of this. Alot has happened this weekend...I don't want to ever forget it". Misty nodded and looked to the lake, the wind just ever so slightly blowing her hair all about.

"I know...this weekend could very well have been one of the biggest moments of your life...I know it was for me", Misty admitted. Ash smiled and looked down to the ground below them. "Ash...I'm sorry". This sudden talk made Ash break his trance with the ground and to meet the eyes of his love. Pikachu too watched on curiously. "I...I have been selfish. Because of me, you and the others had to come out to get me in the storm. Because of me, people got hurt, because of me, drama was created. I caused so much trouble for you all on this vacation. I'm sorry for it", Misty explained. Ash looked at her for a moment. At first he thought that she would be back to her depressed state, but he soon realized that this wasn't the case. She _did _feel like she belonged to them once more, and this is why she was apologetic. He figured that she was trying her best to make up for all of this. Misty made eye contact with Ash. This was all that he needed. Ash placed his hand behind Misty's head and brought her closer to him. Once he did so, he began to kiss her passionately. This was only for the moment however as Ash soon released Misty before she could even involve herself more with it. Although the kiss ended, Ash kept his hand behind her head. He looked into her eyes, as if he wasn't looking for her face, but her soul.

"Misty, you have nothing to apologize for, honestly. Everyone here loves you, and I guarantee that, if the same thing happened again, they would still go out there and find you; despite knowing the dangers", Ash said. Misty's eyes glistened at these words. Ash stepped back slightly, releasing Misty in the process. "Besides, when we traveled together, just how many times did I make you come out after me? As far as I'm concerned, we're still not even". Misty could not help but giggle. She looked back to the lake, Ash did the same, as did Pikachu. For a short while, no one spoke. But once again, Misty stopped the silence.

"Thank you Ash...you've have been so kind to me over the years, from when we first met to even today. What did I ever to do deserve a friend like you?", Misty asked. Ash smiled.

"Ha, you know, sometimes...I ask myself the same thing about you", Ash said. Misty smiled and leaned into Ash, her head resting on his shoulder. The two of them looked at the lake, holding onto each other. "I love you", Ash said. Misty nuzzled deeper into Ash.

"I love you too", Misty replied. Sitting by himself, Pikachu looked at the young couple and smiled. He was happy that they finally got together. After watching the lake for a little bit longer, they had decided that they had to leave. So Ash, Misty, and Pikachu made their way back downstairs, where everyone was more or less ready to leave. Gary and Brock were packing the last of the bags into the trunk of Prof. Oak's van.

"Alright, we're about done now", Gary said. He stepped back and looked at the pile of bags and items in the van. There was just enough room over the top to allow the driver to see behind the van. Brock stuck his guitar case into the little room there was left and stepped back as well.

"Yep, we're officially done with the bags. I guess all we have to do now is hop in the van and make our way back to Pallet Town", Brock agreed. The two of them then walked over towards the others, who were all standing outside with the bags they would carry with them. "Ok, we're all set!". As Brock approached them more, he noticed Team Rocket, standing a little to the side of Ash. He stopped in his tracks. "Oh wait, we have one more thing to settle before we leave", Brock decided. Everyone seemed confused as he reached into his vest and pulled out a rolled up piece of paper. He unrolled it and showed it to the gang.

"Oh, the treaty!", May realized.

"Yep, with vacation over, I guess we won't be needing it anymore. Although I will admit, it was nice getting to hang out with you and not worry about you stealing Pikachu", Brock admitted. He pulled out a pen from another pocket and put the paper onto the side of the van. In big letters, Brock wrote the word "Void" over the entire treaty. After doing so, he placed the pen back into his pocket and showed the treaty to everyone. "Alright, we're officially _enemies_again". Immediately after saying this, Team Rocket all sighed.

"Uh, FINALLY!", Jessie said. No sooner than she said this did James quickly rush over and grab onto Pikachu, who was sitting on Ash's shoulder.

"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!", Ash yelled. Before they could react, Team Rocket suddenly hopped into the forest behind them, seconds later, their hot air balloon was flying into the air.

"We's were waitin for dat treaty to expire!", Meowth yelled in delight. James held Pikachu in his hands, showing off their catch.

"And before you even think about it, I'm wearing rubber gloves!", James told the yellow rodent, laughing evily. From down below, everyone watched in horror and anger.

"ERGH! YOU GIVE HIM BACK RIGHT NOW!", Ash yelled.

"Quick, someone stop them!", Dawn yelled.

"We can't! We left our Pokemon back at Pallet!", Gary yelled back. Everyone looked on helplessly as the hot air balloon slowly but surely moved away from them. From the balloon, Team Rocket laughed at their victory.

"Hahahaha! This was our easiest swipe yet!", Jessie said with a cocky attitude.

"We should of been their friends years ago!", James commented.

"Yeah, it would of saved us half da trouble!", Meowth said, slamming his fist onto the side of the basket repeatedly in laughter. The entire gang then laughed. Pikachu struggled in James' arms, but found it difficult to move. But soon, his tail began to glow in a bright white light. He glared at James, who was still laughing.

"PIIIIIIIIII", Pikachu started. Team Rocket immediately stopped laughing and looked down at their hostage. "KAAAAAAAAA". Now they began to panic, James however remained gripped onto Pikachu. "CHUUUUUUU!", Pikachu yelled. He then slammed his tail into James' rib cage, causing him to release the Pokemon. Pikachu flew slightly and then landed on the side of the basket. As James stood up in pain, Jessie smacked him in the back of the head.

"What are you doing! Grab him!", Jessie yelled. James shook off the pain and dived for the little rodent. Just before he was able to grab him, Pikachu jumped in the air, causing James to dive into the basket. Pikachu then landed on the basket floor. This time Meowth dove for him.

"AHHH! YOU'RE MINE PIKACHU!", Meowth yelled, his claws and teeth bare. Pikachu jumped again just in time. Meowth crashed into the basket floor. Slowly, he raised his head, a evil glare in his eyes. "Ergh, I'm gonna kill dat rat!". As he tried to get up, he discovered that his paws could not move. He looked down and realized that his claws were stuck in the mesh of the basket. Meowth pulled and pulled, but to no avail. Jessie looked at the stuck Meowth and incapacitated James and scoffed. She then bent down and rummaged through supplies on their ride.

"Ergh, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself!", Jessie yelled, pulling up a fishing net. She yelled as she now dove for Pikachu. This time however, Pikachu did not jump out of the way, but directly towards Jessie. He flew in the air and landed on Jessie's face before bouncing off and on the side of the basket. Jessie fell to the floor as Pikachu looked at them with a smirk. As Jessie sat up from the fall, James managed to pull Meowth out of the basket, his claws intact. The three thieves looked at Pikachu with malice. Suddenly, Pikachu grinned and his cheeks began to spark. Team Rocket began to panic. From down below, Ash's worry turned into joy.

"PIKACHU! THUNDERSHOCK!", Ash yelled. His little buddy was more than happy to comply.

"PIIIIIKAAAACHUUUUUU!", Pikachu yelled. Upon yelling this, electrical bolts shot out from his cheeks, striking Team Rocket and their balloon. As Team Rocket screamed in pain, their balloon exploded into a brown smoke ball. For a few seconds, nothing could be seen. But soon, everyone below noticed Pikachu going towards the ground, and Team Rocket (with the remains of the balloon/basket), going the opposite direction, farther away. Ash ran as fast as he could across the driveway and dove, catching Pikachu just before he hit the ground. He held onto Pikachu tight, and then looked at his companion.

"How you feeling buddy?", Ash asked with a smile. Pikachu smiled back.

"PIKACHU!", Pikachu said cheerfully. Meanwhile, Team Rocket was flying towards the distance.

"Ughhh, once again we find ourselves being blasted off", James said sadly.

"Yeah, same old same old", Meowth whined. Jessie however was smiling.

"Oh well, at least we had a great weekend", Jessie admitted. James and Meowth smiled in agreement. Before they were out of sight, the three of them pulled out their tokens of appreciation and held onto them tightly, gripping each other's hands in the process.

"LOOKS LIKE TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF AGAIN!", they yelled before disappearing into the distance; a glimmer was all that was left. After the smoke cleared, Ash stood up, Pikachu held tightly in his arms. He looked up at the now dissolved smoke cloud and the missing Team Rocket. He then looked down at his little buddy and the two of them laughed. By the others, Brock sighed.

"I guess we can't _ever _expect Team Rocket to be friendly for too long", Brock said. The others nodded. Ash turned around and approached the gang.

"So, should we get going?", Ash asked. The others nodded. As Pikachu scurried out of Ash's arms and into his shoulder, Drew walked up and slid open the side door of the van. As the others began to get in it, Ash walked over past the van and to the back door of the lake house. He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. After briefly looking through the few keys on the chain, he held one in particular and put it in the door handle. Before he locked it, he gave one final look to the house, the beautiful lake house that gave them so many memories in only a few days. He sighed and locked the door. After doing so, Ash took out the pamphlet he had with him all this time. He opened it, placed the keys into the pamphlet, and then placed the pamphlet into the small metal mailbox hanging on the side of the house, near the door. The people who overlooked the contest would pick them up later when they arrived. Ash then smiled and looked at Pikachu, who looked back at him. He nodded and the two of them turned around to walk back to the van. May and Drew waited for Ash so that he could get in the car first. Brock stood by the driver's door and just watched him. Ash laughed slightly and then got into the van. May did after him and finally Drew stepped in and slid the door closed. As Ash made his way to the back with Max and Tracy, Brock opened his door and stepped in as well.

"Well then, we all got everything?", Brock asked as he pulled on his selt belt.

"Yeah", everyone responded.

"And are we all buckled up _this time_?", Brock asked, referring to Gary, Ash, and Tracy. They all sweatdropped as everyone else laughed. "Alright then, here we go!", Brock said. He put the keys into the ignition and the van roared. He moved the stick into drive and they began to move. After swinging the van around the end of the driveway, they made their way towards the road. Everyone in the van looked back as they saw their vacation spot and latest adventure disappear in front of them. Soon, after going down the hill for a bit, the lake house was entirely out of their eye sight. Everyone turned around to their front and sighed sadly. Brock looked in the rear-view mirror to see their gloomy faces. "So, did you all have fun?", Brock asked.

"Oh yeah, me and Drew had a _great_ time!", May exclaimed, looking at Drew with a smile. Ash scoffed with a grin.

"Yeah, I'll bet", Ash said. May looked back at him.

"What was that!", May asked, with a hint of attitude behind it. Ash laughed.

"Oh nothing!", Ash replied. Brock laughed as well.

"I guess mine could of gone a little better, but I still had fun", Dawn stated, holding her head, which had new bandages on it.

"I know I'll never forget it", Misty commented. She then looked back to Ash and they each smiled at each other. Ash held her hand for only a moment, but the connection showed. Gary leaned more into his passenger seat and crossed his arms, relaxed.

"You know, I'll admit it, I honestly had ALOT more fun then I thought I would. This was one of the best ideas ever. Remind me to thank your mom Ash when we get back", Gary said. Ash agreed to. After this short conversation, Brock noticed coming up the road the small little convenience store. Without hesitation, he drove into the parking lot and up to the front of the store. Sure enough, when he stopped the van he saw the old hiker, sitting in the big chair with his Granbull at his side, just like when they first saw him. Brock rolled down the window. The hiker looked into the open window and smiled.

"Ah! It's you all! Heading back home are ya?", the old man asked. Brock leaned out of the window, still in his seat belt.

"Yep, we all wanted to say goodbye to you though before we left. If it weren't for you, we would never of found out about that storm until it was too late!", Brock said. Gary also leaned towards Brock's open window.

"We wouldn't of had Stantler for dinner either!", Gary commented. The hiker laughed a huge jolly laugh.

"Well I'm glad to be able to help!", the hiker said. Drew slid his door open and everyone else in the van made their best to make themselves visible to the hiker.

"Thank you!", everyone in the van said. The hiker laughed again, this time, his Granbull did as well.

"No problem! No problem! Now you all be careful on the way home now! And nice meeting you!", the old man said.

"We will, and take care!", Brock replied. He then put the van into drive again and they slowly drove away from the store.

"GOODBYE!", everyone in the van yelled. The hiker waved goodbye.

"GOODBYE!", the old man yelled back.

"GRANBULL!", his faithful Granbull yelled. Drew then slid the door closed and Brock put his window back up. Soon, they were back on the road and on their way home. For a long time they all talked and enjoyed themselves, reliving moments from their trip or other things. Some people remained quiet, others just the opposite. But they all had a great time. About an hour into the drive, Tracy, who was talking to Dawn and Max, realized something he had forgotten.

"Oh! I almost forgot!", Tracy realized. He then reached into his back pack and pulled out his sketch pad. He opened it up and inside was a pile of drawings. "Here, I made these for you all to see! I wanted something to remember this trip by, and this is the best way I know how!". Tracy handed the pictures to Dawn, who looked at them admirably. Max, Misty, Pikachu, and Ash did the same. There were what seemed like hundreds of pictures, all of different things from the moment they left Pallet to the moment they left the lake house. There was a picture of the Seaking they saw on the way to the camp, the hiker and his Granbull, the lake house, Dawn and Max hugging with a blush on Max's face. James unconscious in the lake from the volleyball, Ash and Misty fishing, May and Drew sharing a kiss by the sunset, the guys having fun in the basement. Every moment that they had, Tracy drew.

"Oh wow! These are amazing Tracy! I didn't know you had this kind of talent!", Dawn commented.

"Yeah, Tracy is a amazing artist!", Misty replied. Tracy blushed.

"Wow, I can't believe you had the time to make all of these", Ash said.

"Yeah, when you're so used to it, I guess you don't realize how fast you can do it!", Tracy said bashfully. Dawn handed the pictures up front for the rest of the gang to see.

"It's gonna be a shame that the only thing we have to remember this trip by are a bunch of drawings, my shiny rock, the tokens of appreciation, and memories", Dawn said. The others sighed.

"Yeah, it will be sad, not seeing that house again", Misty said. Ash laughed.

"I wouldn't count on _that_", Ash said. Upon saying this, everyone in the van looked at Ash quizzically.

"What do you mean?", May asked. Ash laughed some more.

"Well, the purpose of this contest was for people to notice the homes that this company makes. So obviously these things are for sale, so...I bought it", Ash explained. Brock nearly slammed on the brakes in shock.

"WHAT!/PIKA!", everyone yelled.

"Yeah, I called up the contest people that mom talked to and they told me the details. So I made some down payments", Ash said.

"But...but Ash, how could you POSSIBLY afford this!", Misty asked, stunned.

"Easy, my trainer winnings. I made alot going so far into the Leagues. My mom made a account for me when I first started traveling and ever since then, I've been putting it all in there. I've got nearly enough for the lake house", Ash explained. Ash then began to laugh in a sort of embarrassed way. Suddenly, he noticed that Misty, May, and Dawn all gave him annoyed looks, (he couldn't help but see the similarities to their faces and Brock's). Ash sweatdropped.

"So you're telling me that you have enough money to buy a lake house...but not enough to pay for our bikes?", Dawn asked annoyed. Ash panicked.

"Uh, well, you see, I didn't have all of this money at those times, so...", before Ash could finish, Drew cut him off.

"Who cares! He just bought one of the coolest places in Kanto! That's WAY better than any old bike!", Drew said.

"Yeah! way to go Ash!", Max replied. Ash blushed.

"Well, thanks guys!", Ash said. "So you know what this means? Now we can go to the lake house anytime we want!". Everyone cheered. For what seemed like forever, Brock drove himself and the gang down hills, through forests, around cities and towns, and before they knew it, they were back in familiar territory. Their excitement continued as they approached the Pallet Town sign, they had finally made it home. Gary had called his grandfather on his Pokenav while Ash borrowed Max's to call his mom. They were both telling them that they had made it back. After a short few minutes, they could see Ash's small house in the distance. They could all see the smiling and waving faces of Prof. Oak and Delia Ketchum. They kept waving until Brock finally pulled up to the front of the house, just far enough out where the trunk was closest to the door, (to make unpacking easier). Drew quickly slid the door open and before he realized what happened, everyone ran out of the van, trampling him in the process. Misty, Ash, Max, Dawn, May, and Pikachu all ran over to hug Mrs. Ketchum while Tracy greeted the Professor. Brock and Gary stepped out of the van and looked down at Drew, who was on the ground and covered in footprints. They looked at each other and burst into laughter. Tracy and Prof. Oak sweatdropped. Delia looked down at her "children".

"So, did you all have fun!", Mrs. Ketchum asked. Everyone nodded.

"Yeah, it was amazing!", Ash said.

"You should of been there!", May exclaimed.

"Thank you so much for the opportunity Mrs. Ketchum!", Misty replied.

"Yeah thanks!", Gary said, now helping Brock lift Drew up from the ground. Mrs. Ketchum giggled.

"Well of course, anything for you all! Now I bet you're all hungry! Why don't you all come in and I'll make some snacks for you all, Ash, be a dear and bring their luggage in!', Mrs. Ketchum said.

"BUT MOM!", Ash yelled. Delia giggled and Ash sighed, slumping down as he did so. Prof. Oak gave him a pat on the back.

"Now now son, a little physical labor is good for you!", Prof. Oak said, not being able to hold in his laughter.

"Oh gee, thanks Professor", Ash said without any emotion. While everyone laughed at Ash's misfortunes, Mrs. Ketchum leaned in and whispered into Misty's ear.

"So deary, did you enjoy yourself?", Mrs. Ketchum asked. Misty smiled.

"I guess you can say that", Misty said. She then looked over at Ash. Through the embarrassment, Ash looked at her and they smiled, blushing just ever so slightly. Mrs. Ketchum looked at Misty, then at Ash, and back and forth until suddenly she jumped for joy.

"Oh! It finally happened! My baby and Misty got together! Oh what a wonderful day!", Mrs. Ketchum said. Although normally this kind of humility would go noticed by everyone, the only person who actually saw this was Misty. She blushed. Delia then grabbed Misty in a hug. "Oh I'm so glad for you, I KNOW you two will make a great couple. I always knew".

"Thank you Mrs. Ketchum", Misty replied.

"Alright! Let's go in and eat!", May yelled. She then grabbed onto Drew's arm and ran into Ash's house, nearly running over Mr. Mime as she did so. The others began to follow. As Max made his way towards the door, he felt a poke on his shoulder and stopped. He turned and saw Dawn standing there, a blush on her face. The others all walked into the house, leaving them outside.

"Uh, hey Max", Dawn said, slightly averting her eyes from him. Max blushed and did the same.

"Uh, hey", Max replied.

"So...I never got to thank you...for saving me the last night", Dawn said. Max looked down at the ground.

"Oh, well...it was nothing. I would do that for you anytime", Max replied with a smile. Although he could not see it, Dawn smiled too.

"I know...so I wanted to give you this", Dawn said. She grabbed Max's hand and held it out. She then placed something into it and released it. Max opened it up and noticed a small Pewter stone in it, with the words "One Free Kiss", inscribed in it in red. Max looked at it confused.

"You're token of appreciation? But why would you want to give this to", Max looked up at Dawn, but before he could finish his statement, Dawn leaned in and gave Max a kiss on the lips. He stood there in complete shock as Dawn pressed her lips against his. She then stood back and blushed heavily. Max stood there, not moving at all, and a large blush across his face. His glasses tilted on his face. Suddenly, he collapsed onto the ground in a heap. Dawn looked down at him at first worried. Then she heard laughter and some cheering coming from Ash's house. She looked and saw everyone looking out the door and windows, smiling and waving at them. Dawn giggled and helped the unconscious Max to his feet. She then walked him over to the house and closed the door. It was silent from then on outside, save for the noises of fun and story telling from inside the Ketchum residence.

**WOOHOO! IT IS DONE! I finally finished "The Lake House", a story nearly 2 years in the works! Thank you all for standing by me for all this time, you are the best fans/authors/friends a guy could ask for! Now unfortunately I am in a hurry at the moment, (I am taking my best friend and secret crush *DON'T TELL HER!* to see "The Nutcracker" for her birthday), so let me rap this up. I want to thank you all for favoriting/alerting/reviewing me and my story. I am proud of this story, and I don;t care if you hated it or not, it's probably my best written one yet! Now then, I will write up my sequel to "Christmas" as soon as I can so that you can enjoy it for this month. I may also update "The Alphabet Game: EVAN AAML Style", once in awhile when I'm suffering from writer's block. And next year, when my Christmas sequel is finished and the alphabet game is at least farther into completion, I will work on my next two stories, which will be my pirate story and Team Rocket story. Thank you all for your time, and enjoy yourselves! Take care, and see you later!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


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